《SPECTER》


 CHAPTER 1

    AJ stood at the edge of the cliff just gazing out at the vast distance. The sun was rising behind the horizon whilst a herd of buffalo ran acrossed the land. A trail of dust followed in their stampede. The sky above was dark, thought the sun was out. That was just the way it was. The way it has always been. Ever since the war that ended almost all life on the planet.


    He placed his hand on his sword, he kept sheathed away in a metal box wrapped onto his back. He was ready to pull it out at a moment¡¯s notice. Not that he ever had to use the sword; not in a while.


    A cool breeze blowed through and brushed against his dark skin. He wore a black skin tight shirt made with nanofibers that could take the shot from a nasty 50.cal sniper rifle. A weapon he had a knack for getting on the wrong end of.


    ¡°AJ are you listening?¡± a voice asked.


    He found himself daydreaming and soon came to his senses. He looked over to his left at his best friend Sev who sat on the edge of the cliff with his legs hanging off. He smiled up at AJ with his winning white teeth.


    ¡°Sorry, I was busy thinking about something,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright man, just wanted to know why you grabbing your sword. You expecting a fight way out here?¡±


    AJ shook his head. ¡°No, I was just¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t understand why he was gripping his sword. He let go of it and placed his hand at his side. He was always uneasy, an effect from living a life of a spectre.


    Spectres were soldiers for hire by the remaining nations. They were soldiers who could wield powers known as Kitek. It gave them all sorts of powers, from elemental abilities to powers that allows them to change the very laws of physics. It was a game changer which is the reason why countries that haven¡¯t been destroyed are constantly scouring the dying world for those who can wield kitek.


    ¡°So, whatcha think¡¯n about man?¡± Sev asked.


    AJ lowered his guard, something he had trouble doing, and sat down beside Sev. At eighteen, Sev was just a bit older than AJ. He wore a sleeveless black turtleneck with the spectre white insignia pinned to his chest. He wore dark armor padded jeans and a two belts around his waist that crossed over his crotch.


    ¡°I was just thinking about our last battle,¡± AJ said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I saved enough of those people.¡±


    Sev smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry man. For your first mission you did pretty good out there. You didn¡¯t freeze up or nothing.¡±


    AJ was just fresh from training. He wasn¡¯t a rookie anymore but a full fledged spectre. Unlike most spectres, he wasn¡¯t up for hire but worked along the US military as a soldier. Today was the first time he had gone out on a mission with his friend Sev. Sev had gone on numerous missions before so he was use to it.


    ¡°Yeah, but I overheard the commander going over the body count. The numbers were extremely high.¡±


    Sev nodded his head along to AJ¡¯s words.


    ¡°I think about how all those people could have been saved if I tried hard enough.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself man,¡± Sev said. ¡°You need to know that you can¡¯t save everybody. What matters is you saved people.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. But I want to be able to save everyone.¡±


    ¡°Well if heres a thought.¡± Sev leaned back and looked out into the distance. Another cool breeze rolled through and his long black hair fluttered in the air. ¡°If you can convince the countries to stop fighting over a dying planet, maybe then you¡¯ll save everyone.¡±


    AJ crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. ¡°You know that would be impossible. Countries are quite stubborn.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s the only idea I got right now.¡± He stood up and stepped walked away from the edge while dusting his pants off.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Come on man, we¡¯re heading back to base. We¡¯re not really suppose to be out here and the commander¡¯s real anal about it.¡±


    ¡°But you said we were!¡± AJ said, jumping up and running up behind Sev.


    Just a few feet from the cliff was a black road that seemed to go endlessly into two directions. The road was covered in cracks, worn from nature and riddled with potholes. Right in the middle were their two motorcycles called Spears. Long black bikes with armored plating. Silver pipes came from the back and the wheels were reinforced with iron metal.


    Sev swung his leg over the seat and sat down. The spear turned on without him needing to do anything. It rumbled and roared as he twisted on the throttle. The pipes jittered as it emitted puffs of black smoke into the air.


    ¡°Hey AJ, you want to try keeping up?¡±


    AJ twisted the throttle on his spear and smiled. ¡°Just try not to eat my dust like last time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that-¡±


    Before Sev was able to finish his sentence, AJ had ridden off at full speed down the road. He gritted his teeth and kicked his stand before driving off to catch up with WIJ.


    AJ and Sev were not sure why, but there was something that fancied them about driving down the endless roads to go knows where. While they rode down the road, they worried about nothing. Just the wind blowing over their heads while they kept low. The gazed into the endlessly at the way in front of them. Eventually the sound of air gusting past their ears would go dead and it would be total bliss.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Sev speed up just a bit, enough to get ahead of AJ. He leaned his spear to the left and cut past him. AJ slowed down to avoid hitting Sev. That move always grinded his gears. Sev was a risky guy and knew AJ would slow down to give way to him.


    AJ sped up but as he did so too did Sev. Sev wasn¡¯t going to allow him to get ahead of him, not without a fight at least. He shadowed AJ¡¯s moves as sharply as he could.


    AJ growled and gritted his teeth. He decided to get risky too. He leaned right, driving off the side of the road and into the desert. The dust kicked up behind him like a wave. His spear jittered and shook on the jagged land. At full speed he got ahead of Sev and then jumped back on the road in front of him. The sudden student caused Sev to break hard to avoid hitting him. AJ looked back over his shoulder and smiled.


    ¡°Nice one AJ!¡± Sev shouted.


    AJ slowed down to match Sev¡¯s speed. ¡°Hey Sev, do you think commander will notice that we¡¯re gone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best not to think about that. Commander it not a total hardass. Let¡¯s just try getting back to base.¡±


    AJ looked to his right. Another herd of buffalo were stampeding passed them. The group of a hundred or so looked like a ball of fur just mixed with dust and dirt that flew around it.


    After a bit of riding, the two made it back to base. The base was a large facility that rested on the side of the cliff that overlooked the black sea. They rode up to it¡¯s giant rusted metal gate that stood forty or so meters high. Snipers stood in the diamond shaped towers, looking down at them with their sniper rifles in hand.


    A soldier stood squad of soldiers stood outside the gate, guarding the it from everything but enemies.


    Sev slowed his down his spear just at the foot of the head guard. The guard glared at him with his arms crossed. In between his rugged lips he held a cigar that billowed smoke from its tip.


    ¡°Hey George, didn¡¯t think you were guarding today.¡±


    ¡°Sev and¡­¡± He glanced over at AJ who tried to hide his big spear behind Sev. ¡°...AJ what are you two doing outside the base?¡±


    ¡°You know, just get a fresh breather and what not,¡± Sev said. ¡°Hey man, mind letting us inside?¡±


    George smiled. ¡°Sure but I have to report everyone who enters and leaves the base to the commander.¡±


    ¡°Oh come one Georgy, you don¡¯t need to do that,¡± Sev said.


    ¡°Of course I do, it¡¯s my job.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your only job,¡± AJ muttered.


    AJ¡¯s words didn¡¯t escape George''s keen hearing. But he let it passed anyways.


    ¡°Also I¡¯m pretty sure the command told me specifically, If Sev and AJ come back, make sure you tell me.¡±


    ¡°So commander knows we were gone huh?¡± AJ said.


    ¡°Looks like it man.¡±


    George¡¯s cigar was short. He took it out his mouth and pressed it against the hood of Sev¡¯s spear and then gave it a good twist. He then dropped it on the ground and crushed it with the tip of his boot.


    ¡°You can bet your ass commander knows. Why don¡¯t you guys head up there right now? I¡¯ll be sure to tell her you¡¯re coming.¡±


    Sev rolled his eyes and groaned. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just get this over with.¡±


    ***


    Commander East sat her desk, buried in stacks of paper piled high around her. The golden rays of light poured in through the large panel glass window behind her. The waves outside were as violent as ever, crashing against the cliffs.


    East rubbed her hand through her brown hair tied in a ponytail and took another hit from her cigarette. She tapped it against her ash tray and took a second hit. Two months ago she promised herself she¡¯d stop smoking...she broke that promise two hours later.


    She was a young woman, petite and short but with an even shorter temper. When the previous commander died she, as his second in command, was promoted to commander by general mathews. Ever since then she had to deal with the struggles that the previous man had to deal with. Constant food shortage, soldiers dying from disease and toxic air, and a growing threat from neighboring countries.


    They base she controlled was just thirty kilometers from a Russian outpost facility. This meant if the United States and Russian went into an all out war with one another, her base would be the first to get hit. They were under equipped and didn¡¯t have enough manpower to run most of the facilities twenty four seven.


    She also had to deal with the constant proxy wars being waged between Russia and the United States. Every day they¡¯d have a battle using small arms and guerilla tactics. Most of the fighting was done between hired spectres. Just two weeks a Russian spectre had sabotage their main water supply badly destroying it. Even now they have yet to get it online and have to rely on imports.


    The door slid open and Sev and AJ walked into the room. They had been here so many times under this circumstances they already knew the drill. Sev took a seat in the chair on the left and placed his feet on her desk while AJ sat down in chair on the right. He didn¡¯t put his boots on the desk but instead held his head down.


    ¡°Sev get your feet off the desk,¡± All three of them said.


    ¡°Will do boss,¡± Sev said. He planted his boots the floor.


    East looked at AJ and groaned while rubbing her face. ¡°Mind telling me why you thought you¡¯re allowed to leave the base without notifying me?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well I didn¡¯t actually know-¡±


    ¡°We thought we wouldn¡¯t get caught,¡± Sev finished.


    ¡°What he said,¡± AJ muttered.


    ¡°You know the rules,¡± East said. ¡°Nobody is allowed to leave the base unless they¡¯re on a mission or have permission from me.¡±


    ¡°We just wanted to chill outside for a moment. The base is so stuffy and very...dull.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± East raised her voice. ¡°I¡¯ve got all these problems rising up the ass. I found out two soldiers died from the plague, we¡¯re going to run out of water in three days, half the facility is still without power and I found out my only two spectres had gone AWOL.¡±


    East dropped her cigarette into her ashtray and the leaned back into her chair. The poor girl wanted to cry but couldn¡¯t. She wondered how the previous commander was able to put up with all this mess.


    She glared at the two. ¡°If another spectre were to attack us, do you know how disastrous that would be?¡±


    ¡°Are we really that important?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Sev nudged AJ to get his attention. ¡°Of course we¡¯re important. Why do you think I can get away with most of what I do.¡±


    East called for her guards who entered through separate door on the left. The three armed soldiers surrounded both AJ and Sev.


    ¡°Guards, take Sev to the brig and take AJ back to his quarters. Make sure he doesn¡¯t leave without my permission.¡±


    Two guards grabbed Sev and cuffed him in thick iron handcuffs. He struggled a bit but gave up, realizing it was futile to resist. He allowed the two to usher him away out of the room. The third guard grabbed AJ by the shoulder and whisked him from the office.


    East took a deep breath. ¡°When will those two learn,¡± she muttered.

 CHAPTER 2

    AJ lied in his bed covered by a thin sheet. He stared up at the cracked ceiling, looking at the ceiling fan spin. Every so often a water would leak from the crack and hit the cold hard floor in the middle of his room. It felt cramped without any windows. Nothing to let in natural light. The occasional rumbling echoing through the walls made it hard for him to relax, but he managed.


    He wasn¡¯t allowed outside his room and he didn¡¯t have any form of entertainment. All he could do was wonder why he was even in the military. How did he become a spectre? It was simple really. He was born with the ability to use hitek. When the military found out they quickly took him from his home and trained him as a soldier since birth. But he was never great. The military life never hardened him. Sure he was able to fight better than most but he was still constantly doubting himself and fell victim to authority.


    He yawned and tossed towards the wall. The muddy colors were dull and depressing. Infact this room use to just larger than most janitorial closet. That was until the East had it turned into his room. A cramped room with just a bed and dresser. It felt more like a prison to him than an actually room. Well, the soldiers living in the barracks didn¡¯t have it any better than he did.


    Memories of how him and Sev first met began to dawn in his mind. He remember it like it was just yesterday. He was fresh from the academy when they sent him here. That was eight months ago. Worried, alone and frightened, he had heard stories of how this is the most miserable base ever. Things seemed unbearable until he met Sev. A guy who just came up to him and told him to hang out together.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it was Sev manly personality or a upbeat look on life, but something geared him towards Sev and every since then they¡¯ve done everything together. Walk together, worked out together, ate together. But today was the first time him and Sev fought together, bled together.


    He remembered it in all great detail. The morning was dark and damp. The rain fell from the sky and pelted the ground around them. It was a wall of rain too thick to fully see through. Sev and AJ were moving into a village in the midst of being burned down from a proxy battle between the United States and China. The chinese military had begun killing civilians, innocent civilians who had done nothing but live.


    The village sat engulfed in flames that roared high. Screamed from the burning people echoed through the rain like an ominous noise. That didn¡¯t stop Sev and AJ from running into the fray. AJ wasn¡¯t prepared for this kind of experience, he wasn¡¯t. But he tried his best to pretend it was a normal simulation.


    Down the single road, he saw soldiers as they dragged the women from their burning homes whilst forcing the men to stay inside and die. It was no mystery what the soldiers were going to do.


    ¡°Hey you bastards!¡± Sev shouted. He raised up his katana and glared them down with eyes fueled by fire.


    The soldiers looked up, shouting something in chinese. They pointed their gun and pulled the trigger. The barrage of bullets exploded from the barrel at Sev and AJ.


    Sev stepped in front of AJ and began cutting the bullets down. He slashed his sword in all directions. Sparks flew out when the bullets smashed against his sword. His speed was quick but he wasn¡¯t able to deflect all the shots. He had to use his hitek to cast a shield around him that did some of the deflecting.


    The metal bullets would smash against his shield, tearing itself apart and causing a ripple like effect around him.


    AJ gripped his sword tight and ran in. He dragged his sword through the mud, it was a bulk, a slab of metal crafted by the military to focus his hitek power. Once in range, AJ his sword up. The blade tore the first poor bastard in half. A clean cut.


    The other soldiers staggered back, trying to reload their weapons. Some of them dropped their magazines in the mud.


    AJ gave them no time to reload. He dashed towards them. With his sword, he slashed his way through the fools. His attacks too quick, the blood wasn¡¯t able to stick to the steel blade.


    Behind them, he stood tall and sheathed his sword. He heard multiple bodies fall, smacking against the mud. When he heard the final body fall he turned around. Sev looked at him and gave him a thumbs up for his effort.


    ¡°Nice job!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Thanks man!¡± AJ shouted back.


    Their smiles soon faded away into the distance when they heard the women crying for their husbands and children who burned away in the homes. Tears rolled down their cheeks as they gagged and cough on their screams. Balled up they held their heads against the ground. Pounding away at it.


    Sev wondered how badly the media would spur this. They¡¯d say something along the lines of, American women lost everything to the yellow demons. He wasn¡¯t sure what else to think about. He looked over at AJ who was just staring at the fire. His body frozen. He wasn¡¯t sure if AJ was afraid or if something else was the matter.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    He spoke into his wrist communicator. ¡°Commander we¡¯re going to need a clean up crew. We managed to defeat the chinese but...the damage was already done.¡±


    That was most of what AJ remember. He tossed around in his bed for a bit before looking up at the ceiling. Water still leaked from the cracks. He started to wonder if the barracks were worst than this.


    There a was a knock at the door. He lifted up and planted his feet on the cold floor. They flinched a bit. He walked over to the door and pressed a button on the side. The door slid open and he saw a East standing there.


    ¡°Hello commander.¡± AJ saluted the woman.


    ¡°May I come in?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Um, sure but it¡¯s a little cramped,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, we can make it work,¡± she replied.


    He stepped to the side and allowed East to walk in. He kept the door open but she insisted he closed it.


    After a bit of settling, East stood with her back leaned against the wall. She took out a pack of cigarettes, a green camel, and placed one in her mouth. She tucked the rest away and began trying to light the cigarette with a dull lighter. She cupped her hand around it and flicked the lighter. It would flash a bit but the dull lighter was almost out of gas.


    ¡°Hey AJ, do you mind?¡±


    AJ placed his index finger at the tip of the cigarette. His finger quickly combusted and lit the it with ease. East took a deep hit, inhaling the smoke into her lung before exhaling it out.


    Without any ventilation, the room quickly grew smoggy. AJ wasn¡¯t a smoker and soon caught himself coughing. East didn¡¯t seem to care all too much about that though.


    ¡°So what did you want commander?¡± AJ asked, trying to hold back his coughs.


    East didn¡¯t say a word. She just stared blankly at the floor between her feet and AJ¡¯s. A young woman, East was only twenty six years old. In this day in age she¡¯d be considered an old woman while AJ would be considered a middle aged man. People tend to grow up faster when you¡¯re most likely to die from pollution, plague or from getting caught between combat between soldiers.


    ¡°Um Hey commander, are you there?¡±


    East shook her head and caught herself daydreaming. She looked up at AJ but didn¡¯t smile or frown. ¡°Sorry, I was just lost in thought.¡±


    ¡°Oh what were you thinking about?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°...It¡¯s...It¡¯s nothing important now,¡± she said, shaking her hand. ¡°What I came here for it to talk about you.¡±


    ¡°About me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, tell me a bit about yourself. I¡¯ve been ass deep in papers I¡¯ve found out I never got a chance to talk to you.¡± She took another hit from her cigarette. ¡°One on one that is.¡±


    ¡°Well didn¡¯t you get my files?¡± AJ asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all there as plain as day.¡±


    ¡°Those files don¡¯t tell me anything about you...personally that is. I want you to tell me about yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not following along. When I first met you and ever since then, you¡¯ve seen so busy. Why would you want to come and waste time by getting to know me?¡±


    East started to cough of the smoke inside her lungs. The effect of having smoke a pack every day for two years straight. She gestured that she was alright and stood up tall.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± she said. ¡°The reason I want to get to know you better is because I¡¯m your commander. I should know everything about those who I lead.¡±


    AJ wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. He lived a simple life. He was drafted into the military at eight because he was able to use hitek and became a spectre at seventeen. There wasn¡¯t much to tell her other than that.


    ¡°Well...there isn¡¯t much about me you can know. I¡¯ve always lived the military lifestyle though my officers never said I was able to conform to it. I don¡¯t know much about my family since I haven¡¯t talked to them in years.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t talked to your family in years?¡± East asked.


    AJ shook his head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. I was taken away by the military at a young age.¡±


    ¡°Do you ever think about them?¡± East asked.


    ¡°Sometimes I do but lately...lately I¡¯ve forgotten their faces. I¡¯m not even sure what my mother looks like anymore.¡± AJ leaned up against the door. ¡°So do you have any family?¡±


    East tapped her cigarette against the wall, knocking the excess ash onto the floor before taking another hit. ¡°Not anymore. Lost them a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°...War?¡±


    ¡°...Plague.¡±


    East dropped her half finished cigarette on the floor and smashed it with the toes of her boot. ¡°Hey AJ, you think you can handle yourself on a solo mission?¡±


    ¡°Is that why you wanted to talk to me?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°No, I genuinely wanted to get to know you. But getting to know you some, I see you¡¯re a decent person.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get Sev to do it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t, he¡¯s in the brig. If I let him out I¡¯ll just be going easy on him. Since you haven¡¯t managed to piss me off I thought you¡¯d be suited for this one.¡±


    AJ smiled. ¡°Alright, what do you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°A convoy containing all the things we need was suppose to arrive yesterday: weapons, food, armor...water. But it hasn¡¯t arrived yet.¡±


    ¡°So you want me to go out and see what happened to it?¡±


    ¡°We know what happened to it. It was attacked by a Russian Spectre. The Russians took all the supplies but didn¡¯t get their hands on what it truly carried.¡±


    AJ cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What did it carry?¡±


    ¡°Something that¡¯ll allow us to repair our water treatment facility. I need you to go out and get this thing for us. Do it and will have clean drinking water and won¡¯t have to rely on outside sources for aid.¡±


    AJ nodded his head. ¡°Sure, but what is the thing?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know it when you see it.¡±

 CHAPTER 3

    ¡°So the commander gots me sitting locked up while you go off on a fancy mission.¡± On the bed, Sev lied on his side with his back facing AJ.


    AJ stood outside his cell. ¡°Yeah, she said it was attacked by Russian Spectres.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to fight them?¡± Sev asked.


    AJ shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m just retrieving something they didn¡¯t get their hands on.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Commander didn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    Sev groaned. ¡°The mission is very important then,¡± he said.


    AJ glanced around the area. It was a large hallway with open caged prison cells. The bars were rusted and open busted pipes ran across the ceiling above head. Unlike his room, these cells had windows. Well some of them did. The lights jittered on and off occasionally. This was do to the lack of power to the base.


    ¡°So, do you have any tips for me?¡± AJ asked.


    Sev glanced over his shoulder at AJ then looked back at the wall. ¡°Not really man. If this is a simple retrieval mission then you should have to fight. Just avoid combat, grab what you need and get back here A.S.A.P,¡± he said.¡±


    AJ just went on his first mission today with Sev. Now he¡¯ll be heading on another one the same day but by himself. He wasn¡¯t tired but he felt it was going too fast for him. He felt that he still lacked true combat experience to be put on such a crucial mission.


    ¡°Hey AJ, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do fine.¡±


    AJ smiled. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll try and get back as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Hey, before you leave. Can you ask the commander when I¡¯ll be let out of here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to talk to the commander before I leave.¡±


    Outside the front gate, AJ¡¯s spear was being prepped to go by the few technicians present in the area. They wore orange jumpsuits stained with motor oil and dirt. AJ walked over to his spear and saw his reflection in the black frame. It had been polished while he was away. It had been a long time since he had seen it cleaned like this. He rubbed his hand over it and felt it¡¯s slick finish.


    ¡°Ya like it?¡± a voice asked.


    He looked back and saw a man standing behind him. A gritty middle aged man with brown hair covered in grey strands. He used a dirty rag to wipe the oil from his face, but it didn¡¯t get it all.


    ¡°Oh hey, thanks for fixing up my bike,¡± AJ said.


    The man smiled. ¡°No problem, the boys and I love fixing up heaps of old junk.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not junk and it¡¯s not old,¡± AJ corrected.


    ¡°Well have you seen what the new Canadians got out there?¡± the man asked. ¡°Compared to what their spectres are riding, ya might as well be riding a bicycle.¡±


    AJ chuckled. ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°The boys back at the garage call me Mac.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a generic name for someone like yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my name, just what people call me,¡± Mac said. ¡°I¡¯d tell ya my real name but then...I¡¯d have to kill ya.¡±


    AJ hopped up onto his spear. He kicked the stand back and planted his foot onto the ground to keep it up right. It felt lighter for some reason. What did those guys do? he wondered. The spear started up and he twisted on the throttle. The engine sounded cleaner, less jitter and there was also less rumble. ¡°Hey, this runs really nice.¡±


    ¡°Ya can say that again,¡± Mac said. ¡°All it really needed was a tightening here and there and a bit of a spit shine.¡± Since they didn¡¯t have any water to waste, they literally gave it a spit shine.


    Without saying another word, AJ drove off. Dust kicked up behind his spear. He drove across the desert with his sword on his back glimmering in the dusty sunlight and a general direction of where he¡¯s suppose to go. Since the war caused most satellites to fall from the sky, the military didn¡¯t have access to GPS or any map related software. They had to rely on scouts and long range drones to find what they needed.


    While AJ went off on his mission, Sev was still stuck in his cramped cell. He lied on his bed, giving his bottom a bit of a scratch before tossing around. The hard bed and thin sheets made it hard to find a comfortable position. After the fifth toss, he gave up and decided to sit on the side of the bed. Outside his cell stood East. She had came to visit him because AJ talked to her about his release.


    Sev rolled his eyes and lied back in bed. He tossed over so that his back was facing her.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter Sev?¡± East asked. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like talking?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t really feel like talking to you,¡± he said.


    East pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took two out. She placed one in her mouth and offered the other one to Sev.


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t smoke,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right,¡± she muttered, placing the pack back into her pocket. She then patted her body down looking for a lighter she just had earlier. ¡°Welldamn.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good because now you can¡¯t smoke.¡±


    ¡°Mind lighting this for me?¡± East asked.


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t make fire.¡±


    ¡°Oh that''s right,¡± she muttered. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things I keep forgetting about you. Well I guess you won¡¯t have to put of with my smoking for a while.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have to put up with your smoking if¡­¡± he muttered the rest under his breath.


    ¡°What was that?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing important,¡± he said.


    East took a deep breath. She¡¯s known Sev for two and half years. Ever since she became commander he despised her. Though he didn¡¯t show it while in front of others, he showed it when the two were alone together.


    ¡°I heard you got AJ going on another mission,¡± he said. ¡°Even after he just came back from his first?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got him retrieving something that could save this base,¡± East said. She held the cigarette between her fingers.  ¡°If AJ completes it mission then it won¡¯t mean the end of us.¡±


    Sev yawned. ¡°I don¡¯t think the kid is ready for such a task. Wasn¡¯t the convoy attacked by Russian spectres?¡±


    ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°I got all of it from AJ. You should know we¡¯re pretty close. We tell each other everything.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°He tells you everything...so he¡¯s told you about it?¡±


    Sev looked back over his shoulder at East. ¡°About what?¡±


    East smirked. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Sev crawled out of bed and walked over to the bars of his cells. There was something she knew about his friend that he didn¡¯t know himself. He¡¯s a veteran, experience in combat and military secrets. He knew that there was always something the US was trying to gain from spectres.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just drop something like that and not tell me anything,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll tell you, but first I want to know why you despise me so much,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t despise you. Why would you ask that?¡±


    ¡°You do, ever since I became your superior you¡¯ve always had that look in your eyes. It¡¯s stronger when we¡¯re alone but you try and hide it when we¡¯re in public.¡±


    Sev walked back to his bed and crawled back on it. He lied on his side with his back facing East. What he held in his heart, something against East, he wasn¡¯t going to say. He much rather it be known only to himself. Though he did dislike her, he couldn¡¯t change the fact that what happened happened. It wasn¡¯t East fault and he knew it wasn¡¯t right to blame here, still he did.


    East snapped the cigarette between her fingers and walked off. ¡°Fine if you¡¯re not going to tell me that¡¯s alright.¡±


    WIth that being done, AJ had managed to make it to the convoy. He parked his spear on top of a nearby desert hill and gazed out. There was a dead tree or so every mile and a few shriveled up shrub here and there. The land was covered in craters from constant bombardment and a few remnants of crumbling cities lied buried in the distance. There wasn¡¯t nowhere the war hasn¡¯t touched. Nothing was alive on this dying planet. Sometimes he wondered if the people were just corpses fighting an endless war for the remaining resources: water, oil, sun.


    The sky was covered in a thick smog. Sometimes it would rain acid or even snowed nuclear flakes. The result of fallout that hasn¡¯t lit up. There was areas where the smog doesn¡¯t show and the sun¡¯s light could hit the earth. These were valuable areas because it meant they could build clean solar power farms.


    The convoy he was looking for lied on road. He quickly ran down without checking for nearby life. The large cargo truck lied riddled with bullet holes. He walked along side it, rubbing his hand against the metal which was still hot. What he was looking for was a metal briefcase that was attached to the arm of one of the soldiers. He went around to the back of the trailer. To listen to what was inside, he placed his ear against the door. He heard the faint sounds of movements that came from inside.


    He unlatched the door and opened it wide. Outside, he peered into the dark trailer. There was a soldier, bloodied and with a bullet hole in her chest. She sat back against the far end, cradling the briefcase in her arms and holding a gun pointed at him.


    ¡°Hey are you-¡±


    The soldier started firing her gun and AJ jerked backwards and fell onto the ground. He lifted up, rubbing his head and gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Hey what the hell is your problem!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Stay back!¡± she shouted.


    AJ peaked back into the trailer and looked at the soldier. Her left hand used to hold the briefcase was badly injured. Her fingers broken and hand bloodied. Her right hand was shaking, she wasn¡¯t able to hold the gun up any longer and dropped it on the floor.


    AJ jumped back into the trailer and went over towards her where he kneeled down. ¡°Thanks for trying to put a few holes in me,¡± he said. ¡°Anyways, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Do...do I look a¡¯ight to ya?¡± the soldier asked, taking deep breaths after each word. She tapped against her helmet that covered her face. ¡°m¡¯ask ya someth¡¯n. Are you a ruskie?¡±


    AJ shook his head. ¡°No, I was sent here by commander East to come and grab that briefcase you¡¯re holding.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let ya do that,¡± she said.


    ¡°And why not?¡±


    ¡°General Mathews gave me strict orders to hold onto this here briefcase for dear life,¡± she explained. ¡°I can¡¯t just let someone like ya to just walks right out¡­¡±


    AJ gave her a good shake so that she¡¯d wake back up. ¡°Hey don¡¯t die on me here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but ya idea. I can¡¯t let you take this here case.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess you¡¯ll just have to come with me then.¡± AJ wrapped her right arm around his shoulder and picked her up off the floor. The soldier grunted, her legs were also injured as well, but she stuck it out. She limped fast enough to keep up with AJ¡¯s pace as he took her outside the trailer.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sergeant Harlot.¡±


    ¡°My name¡¯s AJ, a spectre for the US military.¡±


    Harlot chuckled. ¡°A spectre huh, you don¡¯t look like one.¡±


    AJ stopped and looked behind him. He felt a killing intent coming from behind. There in the distance, just alongside the trailer they came out of, a woman stand. Her grey hair fluttered in the wind and she was dressed in black military combat gear. She glared at him with his fist clenched.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spectre that destroyed our convoy,¡± Harlot whispered.


    AJ looked closely and saw a Russian patch stitched to her shoulder guard. Aw damn, he thought. He gently sat the Harlot down on the ground beside him and reached for his sword. Before he he could take it out, the russian woman held up her hand, gesturing him to stop.


    ¡°No fight,¡± she said in her thick russian accent.


    ¡°No fight, what do you mean by that?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°No fight, no need to. You give and no death.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the briefcase?¡± AJ asked, pointing to it with his finger.


    The Russian woman nodded her head. ¡°Yes, you give to me.¡± There was a glimmer in her left eye. Soon tears began to flow from her eyes, endlessly like a waterfall. Something had pained her that she didn¡¯t know how to deal with. She could only cry about it.


    Harlot groaned as she looked up at AJ. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that woman before,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s the endless crying russian.¡±


    ¡°Endless crying russian? Why do they call here that?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Because when she start¡¯n crying she doesn''t stop until...everyone she intends to kill are dead.¡±


    AJ nodded his head and looked back at the woman. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t give you that briefcase. Without that we cannot repair the water facility back at the base.¡±


    ¡°The water treatment facility?¡± Harlot muttered to herself.


    ¡°That not used for water. That used for...for...for saving lives from plague.¡± the russian said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± AJ asked. ¡°Commander told me otherwise.¡±


    ¡°No, used for saving lives from plague. Used russian children to make vaccine. Americans kill many russians. Russia want cut but Americans won¡¯t share.¡±


    The world has been devastated by a black plague that swept through all life on the planet. Something that didn¡¯t just infect and killed humans but also plants and animals too. The United States had been using Russian¡¯s, mainly russian children to work on a cure. Before russians had been working a vaccine on adults that later passed onto their children. But the war happened and that research was lost. Instead of starting from scratch the United States worked off the DNA of the russian children. Some lived but most had died to create that single vaccine that Harlot now holds.


    The Russians promised to overlooked something so horrifying as that but...but the United States wouldn¡¯t share their research. That was why the Russians has sent the their strongest spectre to retrieve what they believed was rightfully theirs.


    ¡°AJ, you cannot let her get the vaccine,¡± Harlot said. ¡°This is the only vaccine in the world and your base is the only place with a working laboratory that can remanufacture this stuff in large quantities.¡±


    AJ nodded his head and unsheathed his sword. He pointed it down at the russian woman. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take care of this woman real quick. You just sit tight alright?¡±


    ¡°If fight, then you only die,¡± the russian woman said. ¡°Me, Uruski won¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s your name huh,¡± AJ muttered.


    This was the first time he had ever fought against another spectre with the intent to kill them. He charged toward her at full speed with his sword dragging across the ground behind him. She didn¡¯t reveal what she could do until he got into range. She wiped the tears from her eyes and they began to float in their air. She was able to control them and form them into sharp swords she held in her hand.


    Harlot was just a mere human witnessing a fight between two spectres, or so she thought. For when she closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, the fight was already over. Then came the barrage of noises from explosions and metal clashing. Their moves too quick for the sound to catch up.  She had heard they fast but didn¡¯t know how fast they were.


    The two spectre¡¯s stood there. AJ¡¯s blade plunged deep through Uruski¡¯s chest. The blood seeping between the blade and her flesh and the dripping down the sharp edge of his blade. She coughed up blood and slid down his blade a bit as she began to cry. Not fake tears that AJ had seen before, but real tears that came from a broken heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Uruski,¡± AJ said. ¡°I wish it didn¡¯t have to end up like...like this.¡±


    Uruski smiled bitterly. ¡°It...it ok. As you said, we just corpses fighting war no end.¡± She held her head down and closed her eyes. ¡°How...how you strong?¡±


    AJ jerked the blade from her chest, tears bits of organs and flesh from her body. She fell face first on the ground at his feet. A puddle of blood flooded around her. AJ kneeled down beside her, looking down with a blank stare and no emotion.  ¡°You want to know how I¡¯m so strong?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± she said with her final breath.


    AJ leaned close to her, and whispered something quietly into her earth. Her eyes suddenly widened and her jaw opened wide. She wanted to scream but couldn¡¯t; hadn¡¯t have the breath to do so. Instead she died with the only secret that he and a few others held about him. Something he¡¯d never tell anyone who he knew could live to tell on about it.


    He then walked back over to Harlot who looked up at him in awe. He wrapped her good arm over his shoulders and lifted her off the ground.


    ¡°What did you say to her?¡± she asked.


    He smiled. ¡°Nothing important¡­¡±

 CHAPTER 4

    Inside the medical bay towards the south end of the base, Harlot sat in bed. The white sheets covered body and she was wore a blue gown. The sun¡¯s bleak light, bleeding through the dull grey clouds above, came in through the window to the left of her. She felt the warm rays hit against her pale forehead. Her short black hair, straight,  glimmered in the light while she looked out at the endless black sea. The waves were calm but still slammed against the side of the cliffs below.


    The door opened and AJ and Sev entered the room. They walked over and stood beside her bed. AJ held in his hand a small vase with a droopy flower inside. Its stem was bent and the leaves were a pale green.


    Harlot looked up at AJ and smiled.


    ¡°So this is what you look like huh?¡± AJ said, setting the flower vase on the wooden table next to her. ¡°I always saw you...as a more rugged girl.¡±


    Harlot was not something he¡¯d imagine her to be. A girl who shot at him, and held out as long as she did with the injuries she had. She was a soft young girl, about twenty four years old.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think ya be the fighter ya were,¡± she replied. She looked at Sev. ¡°So who is this?¡±


    ¡°This is my friend Sev,¡± AJ said. ¡°Sev this is Harlot.¡±


    ¡°Hey what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    AJ glanced down at her hand. It was wrapped in tight bandages that had to be cleaned every so often. A few people had came to sign it, just those who wanted to make her feel better. She didn¡¯t know them, they were just good strangers.


    ¡°So how¡¯s your arm?¡± he asked.


    Harlot held her head down. Her eyes grew sad and she leaned back in bed. ¡°The doctors said the damage in my arms were more extensive than it seemed. Most of the nerves were snapped so I¡¯ll never be able to use my left hand ever ever again.¡±


    ¡°But I saw you holding onto the briefcase earlier,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°My hand never went limp, so even though it was dead I didn¡¯t let go. Nothing told it too...that¡¯s what the doctors told me anyways.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s going to happen now?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°She¡¯ll have to pack her bags and stop being a soldier,¡± Sev answered. ¡°That¡¯s the best choice for now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could live outside the military,¡± Harlot said.


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve grew up in the military, joined at a young age. All I know how to do is shoot a gun and take orders from my superiors.¡±


    Harlot grew up near the Canadian and US borders. Combat was often fierce and battles between spectres happened all the time. Like AJ she was drafted into the military at a young age. After that she never saw her mother or father or their house again. For when she returned after basic bootcamp there was nothing left her town. It was burned, destroyed, flatted into the ground by constant shelling and battle between US and Canadian forces. A young girl, sixteen, Harlot had the luxury of not experiencing first hand what had happened to her parents.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you something Sev,¡± AJ said. ¡°What happens when you quit the military?¡±


    Sev shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know, rarely anybody lives long enough to retires. But if the military has no more use for you...well you get thrown away.¡±


    Harlot clenched the sheets between her fingers and gritted her teeth. She didn¡¯t want to end her military career. It was all that she knew. She wanted to cry but her eyes were too dry from crying before, so all she did was huffed.


    ¡°I wish you never saved my life,¡± she muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about all this,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°Please just let me be alone.¡±


    AJ and Sev both stepped outside into the hallway, leaving Harlot alone. AJ crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall with his head hung low. The hallways was empty with a few chairs here and there. Steam sprang from the pipes running along the ceiling, hissing and spurring water every so often. Since the medical facility was top priority, it received the most power from the base¡¯s terrible power generator. This meant the lights overhead didn¡¯t flicker or buzzed.


    ¡°You alright buddy?¡± Sev asked.


    AJ shook his head. ¡°No, I feel pretty shitty right now.¡±


    Sev placed his hand on AJ¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know how you feel man. But you need to learn that not everyone is going to have a happy ending. I learned that earlier than most.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Sev patted him on the shoulder and walked off, leaving AJ alone to his thoughts. He glanced down at his hand, it was still twitched, trying to grabbed the handle of the sword that wasn¡¯t there. He had to force himself not to enact his attacks. His body was so fine tuned to fighting that it still felt like it was endanger. Maybe it was because there was another spectre nearby, Sev. But he wasn¡¯t a threat and even if he was¡­.he still wouldn¡¯t have been.¡±


    AJ was taken away at eight, and turned into a spectre against his will. He never conformed to the military lifestyle; never became a hardened man they wanted him to become. But...that was just the way it was.


    ¡°AJ, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡± East said.


    AJ looked up, and physically held his right arm down with his left hand. He smiled. ¡°Hey Commander, did you get my report?¡±


    ¡°Yes I did,¡± she said. ¡°That is the reason why I came down here. Your report and Harlots report have some inconsistencies.¡±


    ¡°What kind of inconsistencies?¡±


    East looked around. ¡°Let¡¯s go to my office where we can talk in private.¡±


    Inside Commander East¡¯s office, AJ and East talked in private. East walked around her desk and sat down in her black office chair that was too big for her body. AJ stood across from her but she insisted that he sat down in one of the empty chairs. AJ wondered what kind of inconsistencies could have been present in his mission report. We he talked about it, he made sure to list every little detail. He found Harlot wounded, fought against the Russian spectre, killing her, and got the briefcase.


    ¡°AJ let me ask you something, did you ever look inside the briefcase?¡± East asked.


    ¡°No I never saw what was inside the briefcase,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°You should know full well what was inside,¡± East said. ¡°In Harlot¡¯s report, she stated you found out what was inside the briefcase. The Russian told you what was inside. Yet you left that part out and instead fabricated and alternative story.¡±


    AJ averted his eyes away.


    ¡°Did you do it on purpose or is that really what you thought happened?¡± She knew the answer to the question. AJ had fabricated that part of his military report.


    ¡°A soldier shouldn¡¯t know more than what he is told,¡± he said. ¡°I fabricated that part because...you didn¡¯t tell me about the vaccine. I figured I wasn¡¯t suppose to know.¡± He eyed East and his eyes grew sharper. ¡°I figured Harlot wasn¡¯t suppose to know either.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t suppose to know,¡± East said.


    ¡°Is that why you permanently damaged her arm, so she couldn¡¯t be a soldier ever again? That way you can get rid of her without killing her?¡±


    ¡°My superiors wanted her out of the picture. The information she knew was too much and would have gotten her killed,¡± East explained. ¡°I managed to keep her alive. Convince them she wasn¡¯t going to be more a threat then she is now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I fabricated the report,¡± AJ said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get in trouble by your superior and...and die.¡± He leaned back in his chair. ¡°What do you really know about me?¡±


    ¡°Only what I¡¯ve been told by my superior and the little bit that you¡¯ve told me,¡± she answered. ¡°I believe you¡¯re more than what you lead on.¡±


    AJ nodded his head along to her words. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if we¡¯re just corpses who forgot why they¡¯re fighting.¡± His finger¡¯s continued to twitch. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if this is really just a free for all. Once there is only one country left...then it breaks into a civil war. Once a side wins then that breaks up into individual factions, the groups and then people. Then you have one on one combat. One person to kill the other. The last man standing kills himself and it¡¯s...and it¡¯s finally over.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve talk like you¡¯re a veteran in combat, but you¡¯ve only been on two missions,¡± East said.


    ¡°Mentally I¡¯m a veteran.¡± He looked over at East. ¡°Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?¡±


    East wanted to know what AJ meant by he was mentally a veteran. She figured it was best not ask him. He seemed on edge and she noticed his fingers were twitching under the desk. If she did asked, she would have gotten a redirected half assed answers. Instead of going to that it was better to just dismiss him.


    Sev sat on the makeshift bench, something crafted by Mac. It was made of junk, scrap metal and spare parts from an old rusted tank. It was hard and felt uncomfortable and stood lopsided. He held his arms across, leaning back in it. Most of the soldiers had stayed inside. He looked up and saw the guards patrolling the high walls with their rifles strapped over their shoulder, wore black gasmask and long thick muddy trenchcoats.


    ¡°Can I sit beside you?¡± A cute voice asked.


    Sev looked to his left and saw a girl standing next to him. ¡°Hey what¡¯s up Shilah?¡±


    Shilah straightened her white sun dress and sat down next to him. Her pale skin had patches of dryness here and there and she wore scarf with a flower pattern over her head to mask her baldness. Like most, she was a soldier who had subcome to the early stages of the plague. It slowly weakened her body and had the late signs of cancer but twenty times worst. It was quick and those infected die within ten days.


    Sev tried to hold up a smile but could only mustered up an emotionless one. Shilah smiled back though she knew it was fake. A smile used to mask someone¡¯s pain.


    ¡°You know you shouldn¡¯t really be out here. A radiation snow is going to fall soon,¡± Sev said.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be out here either then,¡± Shilah said.


    ¡°But I¡¯m a spectre, radiation doesn¡¯t affect me.¡± He stretched out his legs and leaned back.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter much anymore,¡± she said. She prowled her hands over Sev¡¯s. Her hand felt warm and soft while his felt rugged and cold. ¡°Sometimes I wish we can do this often.¡±


    ¡°I wish we could too,¡± he replied.


    ¡°The doctors said I¡¯ve been getting better, which is good news.¡±


    ¡°How good is better?¡±


    She responded with a smile that quivered a bit.


    ¡°I get it,¡± Sev said. ¡°So, ever thought about what you¡¯ve always wanted to do?¡±


    Six days ago, Sev had promised her he¡¯d do one thing with her she¡¯s always wanted to do. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not if it was possible or not. He told her he was a spectre and could do the impossible...except fix her condition. Ever since then she had been thinking about what it is she wanted to do. A single wish, she had to make it count.


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t found out what I¡¯ve wanted yet.¡± She then a snowflake fell on her head. Though it was seventy degree weather, it felt cold as ice. Soon more snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Dribbling down, slowly covering the ground. This wasn¡¯t snow but the result of radiation. It was called Radiation snow, something highly toxic that would kill those who came into contact for too long.


    ¡°We should get inside,¡± Sev suggested.


    ¡°No, I want to stay outside and watch,¡± she said.


    ¡°But the radiation is¡­¡± He stopped talk and slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders whilst holding her hands. He guessed it didn¡¯t matter¡­


    ...It was just the way it was.

 CHAPTER 5

    The sun shined brilliantly in the clear blue sky. It hadn¡¯t reached it¡¯s peak but scorched desert lands below. It was a new day and AJ and Sev were fresh on the ride. The roars and rumbling of their spears echoed into the distance. Dust kicked up behind them like a storm, a wave flying outward. They rode at full speed not taking the road though it lied next to them.


    AJ¡¯s large steel sword glimmered in the light, acting like a beacon for any bandit nearby. Not that he was afraid of bandits. Though the lands belong to the United States, these lands were known as bad country. A lawless vast desert owned by anyone with a gun and willing to kill the next man next them.


    Sev focused forward at the endless horizon. The waves of heat rose from the ground and had a rippling effect. Sweat beaded down his forehead. He wished he didn¡¯t wear this turtle neck, though sleeveless it didn¡¯t make it any less hotter. He wondered why East had the two of them heading all the way out here.


    Just a few hours ago a reasonable sized town called Amdel, had sent out a distress call. A squad of US soldiers had reported Canadian scouts in the area. Two hours later the squad were reported KIA. In situations like this normal soldiers would have been sent in. But the distress call said the town was completely taken over by a group of fourteen or so soldiers. Along with them were two spectres known as twins.


    AJ looked over at Sev who seemed to be in deep thought. ¡°Hey Sev, so do you know anything about these spectres?¡±


    Sev broke from his thought and looked over at AJ. ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, do you know anything about these twins,¡± he repeated.


    Sev nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re two powerful spectres for hire. They¡¯re not affiliated to just one nation. Being powerful and being up for hire, they¡¯ve become real popular with Russian and China who use them to fight us and Canada.¡±


    ¡°Why are they working with Canada then?¡±


    ¡°Canada¡¯s probably paying them more than Russia and China.¡±


    AJ focused forward, wondering what he¡¯d be like if he became an spectre for hire. He didn¡¯t like killing innocent people. That¡¯s what most spectre¡¯s for hire are used for. Because of their blink of an eye speed they¡¯re mostly used for assassination missions or killing off entire villages or towns. Killing people who have done wrong...he thought it was disgusting.


    ¡°Do you know anything about the twins?¡± he asked.


    Sev shook his head. ¡°Not from experience. What commander East told us, is that they¡¯re very quick. They use scythes and only attack together.¡±


    ¡°So when we fight them we should try to split them up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guess when they¡¯re alone their fighting is total shit. So yeah, lets try and split the two up when we engage them.¡±


    AJ glanced up at the sun, hovering his hand over his face. He then looked forward again. ¡°Hey, do you think the reason proxy wars exist is because all the remaining countries are lack the resources to fight one another in all out war like before?¡±


    ¡°All the remaining countries are indamn. Sometimes I think all the country leaders are dead. That¡¯s why we¡¯re all still at war because the ones who can end the war are dead.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we just forgot why we¡¯re fighting in the first place and just fight to fight.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Sev and AJ stopped just two miles from the town they were suppose to be in. They parked their spears behind a hill and took position on the top. They lied on their stomachs and scouted the nearby area with binoculars. The town was built on a dried up waterbed that hadn¡¯t seen water in decades. A wide road went through the heart of it. The buildings were made of sand brick that weren¡¯t built to last. Some were crumbling and others had already collapsed. In the heart of the town was a spiraling tower. At the top, a Canadian flag fluttered in the dusty dry breeze.


    The people were being herded to the center of town by armed soldiers. Dressed in brown camo, they wore black gasmask and prouded the Canadian patch on their shoulders. They people staggered, crying as they were forced to lie with their stomachs on the ground. Women, children, men were all taken hostage. Scouting the area yielded no result for the twins. Sev guessed they¡¯re hiding in a nearby building that they were using as a makeshift command post.


    ¡°Hey!¡± a voice whispered.


    AJ and Sev looked back and saw a platoon of soldiers behind them. AJ¡¯s fingers began twitch as he reached for his sword but soon stopped. The soldiers wore US patches on their shoulders. He had thought he¡¯d have to kill before the mission even commenced.


    ¡°Who are you guys?¡± Sev asked.


    One the soldier stepped up. ¡°My name¡¯s lieutenant Andrew. We were the first responders when the distress signal was sent out earlier this morning.¡±


    Sev rolled onto his back and lifted up. He reached out and shook Andrew¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m spectre N7 class Sev. The black guy behind me is spectre AJ. He¡¯s an N3 class.¡±


    AJ glared at Sev.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s nice to meet you two,¡± Andrew said. ¡°It¡¯s always good to have some spectres on our side.¡± He reached under his gasmask to scratch his beard. ¡°Before we found you guys, we¡¯ve been trying to devise a way to deal with the spectres.¡±


    Sev glanced at the soldier crouched behind Andrews. He held a black beretta 50. cal sniper rifle in his hands.


    ¡°Have you guys thought about sniping them,¡± he suggested. ¡°Even though we¡¯re fast, we can¡¯t dodge something if we don¡¯t know it¡¯s coming.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve thought about that,¡± Andrews said. ¡°But they stay inside and keep clear of the windows. If we want them outside, we¡¯d have to cause a commotion. If we do that we could kill a few candies before their spectres wipe us out.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that man,¡± Sev said. ¡°We also came here to take back the town. Just devise up a plan and we¡¯ll go with it. Just make the plan relies on us fighting the twins.¡±


    Andrew gave Sev a thumbs up. ¡°Give me a moment while I talk with my sergeant about a new plan. Gonna teach these candies what happens when you stomp on US soil.¡±


    Sev looked back over at AJ who was conversing with one of the soldiers. They laughed and joked before AJ turned to Sev and asked. ¡°Hey man, this soldier wants to know why we don¡¯t just run everywhere.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sev asked.


    ¡°If we¡¯re so fast then how come we don''t just run everywhere?¡±


    Sev cocked an eyebrow and looked at the soldier lying beside AJ. The soldier just gave him an unsure shrug.


    ¡°Listen dude, we experience the world and move at a faster rate,¡± he explained. ¡°For us hours could have past but for you guys it could have just been seconds. Just...just don¡¯t think too hard about it.¡±


    ¡°See, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to tell him,¡± AJ added.


    The soldier nodded his head, half heartedly. ¡°So do you guys always move at such a fast speed or is it only sometimes?¡±


    Sev groaned. For him there was always that one rookie soldier who asked all the questions that could have been looked up on the internet. But only if the internet still existed a a civilian commodity and not a military one. ¡°No, only when we want to.¡±


    Andrew tapped on Sev¡¯s shoulder and got his attention. ¡°My sergeant and I finished talking. We have a plan for dealing with the Canadian forces.¡±


    ¡°Yo man what¡¯s the plan then?¡± Sev asked.


    Andrew explained the plan to him. It would require that both AJ and him sneak into the base and assassinate their commander. After their commander is dead, the two will then fight against the twins while the soldiers move out to defeat the enemy forces and secure the town.


    ¡°Do you really think that¡¯ll work?¡± AJ asked. ¡°Seems unreasonable to try and assassinate the commander. The twins would notice us coming.¡±


    ¡°Not unless you¡¯re going at top speed,¡± Andrew said.


    ¡°Not exactly. we can sense other spectres a mile away,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we parked two miles away,¡± Sev added.


    ¡°Then what plan do you have in mind?¡± Andrew asked.


    ¡°Let us just take on the twins. You guys would have to kill the commander yourselves.¡±


    Andrew nodded his head. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get a move on then.¡±


    AJ and Sev took point on their spears, riding in front of the soldiers. The soldiers were piled into four pickup trucks. Each held 6 soldiers, two in the front four in the back and were mounted with light machine guns. The town rose in the distance as they drove closer. The buildings were worn and the dusty streets were dry, void of even sweat.


    The enemy soldiers stood waiting at the entrance to the city, the same one the US soldiers were coming in from. They hid behind makeshift cover, wooden barrels, rusted crates and old rubber tires leaned against the buildings. Their readied their rifles, eying down the scope of their rifles and fingers jittering on the trigger.


    ¡°AJ, lets do it!¡± Sev said.


    AJ nodded his head.


    Their spears slowed down along with everything around them. The soldiers behind them seemed to be traveling at one mile every hour.  The word seem blissful, even the sound was empty. At this point AJ and Sev both had to rely on using telepathy to speak to one another. They experienced the world faster than the sound of their voice. It would sound long and slurred.


    AJ released the throttle and lifted up. ¡°Hey Sev, you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡±


    Sev looked forward and saw the twins standing in the middle of the road. He then nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, I see them.¡±


    The twins held hands in the middle of the road. Their trench coats fluttered in the breeze. A type of breeze only those who experienced the world at a fast rate could feel or see. They stared at their opponents through small slits in their iron mask. The one on the left wore a mask shaped like a lion while the other wore a mask in the shape of a wolf.


    ¡°I suggest you turn back now,¡± the twins both said.


    Sev tucked his hands into his pocket and started walking forward. ¡°Sorry, but that won¡¯t be possible. Not until we¡¯ve defeated you and took back the city first.¡±


    ¡°Town,¡± AJ corrected.


    ¡°What ever bastard,¡± he muttered sarcastically.


    ¡°Whatever they¡¯re paying you is not worth throwing your lives away,¡± the twins said.


    Sev smirked. ¡°Sorry but we¡¯re not like you guys.¡± He reached into his shirt and took out his dog tag. ¡°You see, we¡¯re soldiers, US citizens who fight for freedom...or what¡¯s left of it.¡±


    The wolf twin nodded her head. She was a slick woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail the reached down to her waist. Her hands were rough and her brilliant white trenchcoat made the dust on it stand out more.


    ¡°Why would you waste your efforts fighting for a dead cause?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°You fight for your country and we fight for survival. The difference between our reasons to fight is that yours don¡¯t exist anymore.¡±


    ¡°The USA still exist today,¡± AJ said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the twelve remaining countries left.¡±


    ¡°A quarter of your country is controlled by China, the lower part of it, where Texas use to be, is now controlled by the Japan. Countries don¡¯t exist anymore...not how they use to. They¡¯re nothing more than plots of dead land we humans kill over.¡±


    During the war, the United States was the first to attack. As the war raged on, it slowly lost its fighting power. The longer the war dragged on, the more desperate its allies became. Like most other countries, Canada and Japan betrayed their ally and attacked US soil. Canada obtained nothing and lost most of it¡¯s land to Russian but China and Japan managed to gain a bit from the attack.


    Eventually the world¡¯s countries became jumbled up plots of lands, jagged borders reaching inside other borders. Spots of Indian territory was slap dabbed in the middle of Canada¡¯s. Russia¡¯s territory extended right through the UK¡¯s splitting it in half. Japan and China own islands that looked as if they were tossed around in a blender.


    Only four percent of any territory a country controlled was usable.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Sev said. ¡°The reason we¡¯re fighting for our country is because all our shits there. I¡¯m not gonna let another country take over and pillage our shit.¡±


    AJ nodded along to Sev¡¯s words. ¡°I agree with what he said. Besides, what are you guys fighting for anyways?¡±


    ¡°The only thing that matters in this world,¡± the lion twin said. She wore a black trenchcoat stained and bleached to look like camo. Her blond hair  draped down over her shoulder like waves and she stood just a bit taller than her sister.


    ¡°And what would that be?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Survival¡­¡±


    ¡°Survival huh?¡± Sev smirked. ¡°If you want survival why did you choose this kind of lifestyle. Most spectres for hire don¡¯t live too long. Sound¡¯s counter intuitive don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The lion twin shook her head. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±


    Sev looked at AJ. ¡°You ready to do this man?¡±


    AJ¡¯s fingers began to twitch once he reached for his sword. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Like we planned; split them up and fight them one on one.¡±


    AJ and Sev unsheathed their swords and ran towards the twins. Once in range, they both swung their swords. The twins lept back, dodging their attack. They then unzipped their trench coats, revealing the row of silver pistols and black steel tipped knives hidden on the inside. The pulled out their guns, dual wielded, and fired at Sev and AJ.


    Their gun¡¯s didn¡¯t make the traditional bang one would hear. Though their guns fired traditional bullets, they used their hitek to speed up the shot ten fold. AJ and Sev didn¡¯t dare to try and deflect their shots. They dove to the side and rolled behind cover.


    AJ flinched as the bullets tore through the wooden box above his head. The rounds, chipped away huge chunks of wood, and splitters went flying out from his head. He looked over at Sev who was behind a metal barrel.


    ¡°Hey, you have a plan or something?¡± he asked.


    Sev nodded his head. ¡°You can use fire right?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Try to combust the area around them, get them split up.¡±


    AJ went out from covered. With his arm extended outward, he snapped it fingers. Sparks of fire jumped from his hands and bursted forward in a seemingly straight line. The flames roared as they traveled like a spiraling wave towards the twins.


    The twins jumped to the side in opposite directions to avoid the attack. With a raging wall of fire between the two, the twins were forced to fire separately.


    ¡°Nice job!¡± Sev said, running out from cover. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the lion chick, you take on the wolf girl.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± AJ said.

 CHAPTER 6

    Sev searched around the nearby area after losing trace of Lion; a name he had given to the twin that wore the lion mask. He had fought her a bit but she managed to escape into an alleyway. When he went through to chase after her, he had lost her in an open plaza. He skulked around the plaza with his sword at the ready. The steel blade reflected his face clearly. He darted his eyes left and right, scouting, looking for the slightest motion.


    He felt something from behind and turned around. In the distance fires rose and exploded in the distance. AJ was still fighting his opponent. Unlike him, he wasn¡¯t great at using his hitek abilities. The only thing he can do is flash point, a name coined by some spectre which is now used by most. It¡¯s the power that allows him to move and experience the world at a faster rate than others.


    Other than that power, he relied on his physical skill. A master at the sword and hand combat, Sev had been on the longest winning streak in his entire career. He¡¯s killed more spectres than they have killed him; which was zero.


    He glanced around the flat area once more. The buildings were raised short and some slumped to the side, leaning against their neighbor. Rusted metal shanties covered the broken glass windows. This town looks better than most, he thought.


    The ground underneath his feet began to vibrate. He looked down and tightened on his sword. A pillar, flat on all sides and pointed at the top, bursted from the the ground. At the last moment possible he stepped out of the way. Landing back, another pillar rose from the ground where he stood. He jumped back avoiding that one too. After dodging three more, the pillars stopped rising from the ground.


    He looked up and saw a shadowy figure standing on the roof of a building across the plaza from him. He peered through the sun¡¯s light that shined behind the figure and saw it was infact Lion.


    This is going to get fun, he thought. He then ran forward. With all his strength, his planted his frontmost foot on the ground and jumped into the air. He felt the air against his face as he came down on top of Lion. With his sword gripped tight he swung down, smashing his sword into the roof of the building.


    Lion side stepped out of the way of his devastating attack. She extended out her arm in the direction of her pillars and clenched her hand into a fist. The pillars began to vibrate. In a tugging motion, she pulled her arm in. The pillars bursted from the ground and soared in an arching motion, into the air. Like missiles they came down on top of Sev who saw them coming a mile away.


    He dove forward out of the way of the first one. It slammed through the roof leaving a clean cut hole and throwing out dust in its wake. The particles of dry rock choked his lungs but didn¡¯t hinder him greatly. A few coughs and he was ready to keep fighting. As the other five came down, he gritted his teeth and raised his sword up. In one slashing motion going down, he sliced through the first one. He felt his arms trembling along with his blade as it grinded through the pillar, splitting it in half.


    He didn¡¯t try to take on the other three. He jumped off the building and rolled once his hit the ground. He stumbled a bit when getting up and then staggered a few feet away from Lion who stood on the edge of the roof. Still having the high ground, Lion was at the advantage.


    He soon realized the she want¡¯s running away but instead leading him to this place. An open area where there was just a few piles of junk and abandoned motor vehicles to act as cover. With buildings surrounding him on all directions and no roads going through, he was trapped like a mouse in this arena.


    Lion raised her hands into the air and the pillars rose from out of the building. Above her they pointed down at Sev who staggered back slowly. She motioned a throw and the pillars followed. Sev turned around and hightailed it out of there. He ran for a nearby building, the first one he saw that had it¡¯s doors open.


    He covered his face with his arms as he jumped through the window. The glass scrapped his bare arms as he rolled into the room. Though the door was wide open he thought it would be mucher cooler to come in through the window. An action he regretted because now his arms stung with broken glass.


    Kneeling down, he looked back over his shoulder. A pillar came crashing in through the wall. It grazed past his shoulder as it slid into the wall  in front of him. Dust filled the air and he tried to hold back his rising cough. He crawled away, weaving around the wooden tables and stools before going behind the counter. He sat against the rusted counter and looked down at his wounds. They weren¡¯t too bad, just light scratches that burned.


    ¡°So how did you get your wounds Sev?¡± he asked in AJ¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Well you know, I jumped through a damn window cause I thought it was cool.¡±


    He bumped the back of his head against the side of the counter a few times. He had to think of a way to defeat Lion. He had little skill in using his hitek for fighting and relied solely on his physical skill. Lion seemed the opposite way to him. It seemed she relied on her hitek over her physical skill in combat.


    He glanced over to his right and saw a white lotus flower blooming in a potted plant. It had been years since he¡¯s seen a living plant. He¡¯s seen plants before but...but living was the key word there. He was sure Shilah would love to see something as beautiful as a white lotus so he crawled over to it. He then placed his hand on the mushy soil. It felt wet and clean to the touch. He peaked over the counter and saw, through the window, Lion standing on the roof of the building across from this one.


    There was a small plastic ziplock bag on the counter. He grabbed it and piled the rich soil from the pot into the it. Delicate, careful, he grabbed the lotus, cupping it into his hands, he then placed it into the ziplock bag. With a piece of scrap metal he found lying on the wooden floor, he punctured three holes into the bag in order for the flower to breath.


    ¡°There, that should hold you until we get back to base.¡± He zipped the plastic bag up and tucked it into his pocket.


    ¡°Alright, now I have a reason to end this fight quickly.¡±


    He stepped out from the building into the open environment. With a deep breath, he inhaled the hot air into his lungs and slowly breathed out. He looked up at Lion, eyes full of determination.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m done messing around,¡± he said.


    ¡°Really, I just thought you were weak,¡± Lion mocked.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah suck a fat one please.¡± He grabbed the pillar beside him. It was twice the width of his body and three times his height. With all his strength, he dug his fingers into the rock and picked it up with one arm. His muscles pulsed as he cocked his arm back. He took a few running steps and threw the pillar like a spear back at Lion.


    Wide eyed, Lion quickly raised her hand toward the incoming object. It stopped in mid air and remained motionless. She knew the physical feats of spectres but never thought one would be this strong.


    Sev gritted his teeth. ¡°How did you stop my attack?¡± he asked.


    Lion adjusted her mask, the sudden movement had slipped it slightly off. ¡°These pillars are infused with my hitek. I can control them at will and anything else I infuse with my power. The earth is my weapon and I use it masterfully.¡±


    Sev tighten his grip on his sword and with a wide motion he threw it at her. The blade spiraled in her direction. It scraped across her cheek, breaking off a chunk of her mask. She then jerked to the side from the force. She then glared at him and tossed the suspended pillar back at him.


    Sev jumped over the pillar right at his crashed down in front of him and landed on the opposite side of it. Since he wasn¡¯t able to use it as a weapon, he had to destroy it. He clenched his fist and cocked back his arm. With half his strength he punched the pillar sending a shock wave booming out from behind it. It broke in half, the top falling over onto the ground.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Alright, two down and three more to go,¡± he said to himself.


    Facing Lion, he ran at her with full speed, vaulting over obstacles that lied in his path. At the base of the building, he planted his back most foot on the wall and ran up the side. He used it hands to help himself up. Once on the roof, he was too close for her to use the remaining pillars to attack him with.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how well you really fight,¡± he said.


    He stepped forward and sent a flying jab straight her way. She barely dodged it by stepping to the left out of the way. She felt the wind from his fist, graze her ear. She looked left with her eyes and saw a punching up her way. His knuckles felt like concrete as they brushed along her jaw. Her head cocked back and she stumbled backwards.


    He didn¡¯t let up and launched there quick two quick consecutive jabs, both cracked her mask. The jabs were followed by cocking his right fist back and tilting it down slightly. He ran his fist into her cheek. She felt her jaw crack as she staggered back until she fell to the ground.


    Sev grinned, showing off his winning teeth, and wiped his thumb across his bottom lip. Then he noticed her curl her index and middle fingers inward a couple of times. He looked right and at the last moment saw a pillar. It smashed right into him. Made of hard stone and felt like a carcrash, it knocked him off the room and back into the plaza. He slammed onto the ground and rolled about for few feet. Struggling, he managed to prop himself up on his elbows and look back up. He tasted the richness in his blood before spitting it out.


    ¡°Damn, should have been focusing.¡±


    He staggered over to the pillar that had just hit him. It lied a few feet away but he managed to get over there. With a single punch he cracked it half, destroying it for good.


    ¡°Alright, two more left and she won¡¯t have any.¡±


    He looked up and saw Lion standing at the edge of the building. Her mask was crashed and blood dripped from her cheek. She looked forward and saw a bunch of fiery explosions in the distance. They twirled and waved, spreading out through the city streets. Her sister was still fighting against AJ and it looked fiercely. She reached into her coat and pulled out one of the dozens of pistols she stored inside it.


    With her finger on the cold trigger, she fired a barrage of shots at Sev. He ran back, taking cover behind the broken pillar. With it destroyed, she could no longer use it to attack. She jumped down from the roof, it took too much hitek use multiple pillars at once. Running towards Sev¡¯s position, she aimed her gun and fired a all her bullets. They all pierced through the cover Sev hid behind.


    Running out of ammo, she tossed the gun off to the side and reached into her coat for a new one. Right as she got near the cover, Sev rose from behind it. She was just close enough for him to knock the gun from her hand. He then grabbed her by the collar and tossed her over onto his side. She fell onto the ground but quickly rose up with an uppercut that missed.


    Sev stepped in and weaved around to the back of her.  She turned around swinging her fist, which also missed. Unlike Sev¡¯s, whose attacks were precise and quick, her¡¯s were slow and sluggish. With open palms, he redirected each attack. He then leaned to the left of her next attack, grabbing her arm.


    ¡°Just as I guessed,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re total shit when it comes to fighting like this.¡±


    ¡°You may be right about that,¡± she said. ¡°But that¡¯s where you ego gets the better of you.¡± She grabbed him by the collar, holding on tight. He didn¡¯t struggle but wondered what she was planning to do.


    From the ground behind him three sharp spears came from the ground and plunged directly through his back. His blood dripped from the tip and down the long rod. Lion had infused the ground around them that allowed her to control them like she did her pillars but in a more controlled manner.


    He slowly let go of his grip on her, his fingers trembled as he slid backwards on the spears until he landed back on the ground. A puddle of blood formed around his body. His eyes felt heavier than normal. He stared up at the blue sky above wondering why he made such a rookie mistake of underestimating his opponent.


    Lion stepped over his body and grabbed one of the spears protruding through his body and broke it off. She held it in her hand like a javelin she was going to throw.


    ¡°I guess this is it for you,¡± she said. ¡°You should have walked away when we gave you the chance.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I was just shitting around,¡± he replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t take you seriously. I couldn¡¯t because I thought you were going to be easy. You are but then again I made such a rookie mistake that it probably cost me this fight.¡±


    Lion pointed the spear at his smiling face. She gripped it tightly in her hand and fought against through it. ¡°You know...my sister smiles just like you.¡±


    Sev coughed up a bit of blood. ¡°R-Really she does now huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but recently I haven¡¯t seen that smile in a while now.¡±


    ¡°Is it because y-you wear those mask?¡±


    Lion shook her head. ¡°No, even when we¡¯re not wearing them I still don¡¯t see it.¡±


    Sev felt his body growing colder. The girl was started to move a faster rate than he was and all sound slowly began to come back to his senses. His body was growing weak and he couldn¡¯t keep up flash point any longer...but he tried.


    He took out the bag with the lotus flower in it and held it up to his face. The white petals glimmered in the sun¡¯s light. It was a miracle he hadn¡¯t smashed it yet with all the movements. He wanted to be able to give it to Shilah...he might not be able to do that.


    ¡°Is that for someone special?¡± Lion asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s for my girlfriend...s-shes pretty damn sick,¡± Sev answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡±


    His smile grew bigger. ¡°You don¡¯t seem like a killer,¡± he said. ¡°Why do you even do this?¡±


    Lion lowered the spear down to her side and then dropped it next to her on the ground. ¡°Never have I liked fighting. My sister and I do it only to survive like the rest of the world.¡±


    ¡°What do you m-mean by that?¡± Sev asked.


    ¡°The nations fight because if they don¡¯t they won¡¯t survive. The other countries will devour them, destroy their cities, kill their people and take their women. The country will be destroyed and that¡¯s why it fights so that doesn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°I noticed you¡¯re not using flash point anymore,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think w-we have to use telepathy to talk anymore.¡±


    Lion nodded her head. ¡°I stopped because for a good minute I noticed you weren¡¯t moving.¡± Her voice sounded soft, young like a teenage girl.


    ¡°H-How old are you?¡± Sev asked.


    Lion took of her masked and the first thing he noticed was house purple her eyes were. They were sharp like a cats and her rosy cheeks were curved and soft, though bruised. She had to be no older than sixteen or fifteen years old.


    ¡°C-can¡¯t believe a cute girl like you would get into something like this,¡± Sev said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but this is life.¡±


    ¡°So, no parents and got into military shit at a young age. A t-typical life of a kid.¡±


    The sound of gunfire and explosions erupted in the distance. Canadian forces and US forces had begun fighting one another. For Sev and Lion it had felt like a while but that was because they were using flash point. In reality it had only been a few seconds.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always hated being a spectre,¡± Lion admitted. ¡°It¡¯s the reason why my sister and I had to watch our parents die.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Sev asked.


    Lion held her head down. ¡°In the grey ruins, our parents and we were traveling. Something black hovered overhead but we didn¡¯t know what it was. It dropped something that exploded. We were far from the blast but shockwave caused rubble to fall from a nearby building.¡±


    She tried to fight back the tears and lost. The rolled down her cheeks in a waterfall. ¡°It pinned our parents under. They survived but were stuck. Then another one of those hovering black things dropped another bomb. It fell just feet from us and exploded. That¡¯s when my sister and I flashed stepped for the first time ever.¡±


    She clenched her hands tightly into a fist. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what happened. When didn¡¯t know we were spectres or that we flash stepped. All we know is that everything stopped around us. Even the explosion slowed down. The first thing we did was try to free our parents. For hours we tried to free them but eventually the fires from the explosion crept up on us.¡± There was a long pause before her next sentence. ¡°...We had to leave our parents or else we¡¯d die too. My sister didn¡¯t want that. Eventually our bodies grew weak from using flash stepped and when we were miles to safety, everything went back to normal.¡±


    ¡°War sucks ass,¡± Sev muttered.


    ¡°It does.¡±


    She smiled a bit and blood spilled from Lion¡¯s mouth. She stared down with her eyes at the thick steel sword plunged through her. It¡¯s blade stained in his blood. Slowly, it tore through her flesh as AJ, pulled it out from her back. She fell to her knees before falling over on the ground.


    ¡°Dude, you k-killed...her.¡±


    ¡°Sorry but I couldn¡¯t let her kill you,¡± AJ said.


    Sev slowly shook his head. ¡°She wasn¡¯t going to...to kill me,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s too late for that now I-I suppose.¡± He glanced over at AJ. ¡°What happened to the other one?¡±


    ¡°We had a long conversation and after that...she asked me to kill her,¡± AJ answered.


    ¡°Why would she do that.¡±


    ¡°She said she hadn¡¯t smiled in a long time,¡± AJ said. ¡°She...she said she died a long time ago and was nothing but a corpse who fought because she found no other reason.¡±


    Sev tightened his grip on the lotus bag. ¡°Lion...Lion told me her story about her sister and parents. Though I felt her pain...I still had the nerve to kill her if I could. Do you believe that we¡¯re c-corpses who fight just to fight.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I do but then I remember something. Corpses can¡¯t feel pain or the pain of others like living humans can.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. Guess that¡¯s just the way it is.¡±

 CHAPTER 7

    Shilah awoke to the sound of rain pelting the side of the glass window of her room. She sat up in bed and looked out at the grey clouded skies. The medical room was small, with a single bed and enough room for doctors to move around. The sound of the rain pelting the window and the beeping of the heart monitor had a blissful chorus together.


    The room was dimly lit, only the dull outside light illuminated the room. She fiddled with her thumbs and wondered when Sev would get back. He had left to on his mission a day ago but had not returned. He promised he¡¯d visit her everyday until...until that day arrived. This was the first time he had missed a day.


    She stared without motion, down at her feet. She wiggled her toes a bit to see if she could still move. Paralyzation was a sign that it was over. Though the plague had consumed her body she still...tried to act lively in front of her beloved Sev.


    They both had met on a dull rainy day just like this one. He had found her walking along the base, soaking wet and without an umbrella. Soldiers didn¡¯t need one. It was the cliche boy meets girl trope that everyone was use to. Eventually the two continued enjoying another¡¯s company and decided to take it a step further. Though it was possible for her to retire, he could not. Not until the war that would last forever, was over. It didn¡¯t matter to him. He said he¡¯d become the strongest and end the war by himself if he had too. It was a small joke at the time he said it.


    The door swung open and Sev came into the room. Her eyes lite up with excitement and she smiled, though it hurt to do so. With both hands, he held a pot full of clean water. Floating on the water was a white lotus flower.


    ¡°Look what I got for you,¡± he said.


    ¡°It looks gorgeous,¡± she replied.


    Sev smiled and placed the it on the table beside her. ¡°Sorry I missed a day,¡± he said.


    ¡°I understand, missions can be tough sometimes.¡±


    Sev shook his head. ¡°No, I got back from my mission on the same day. But I got pretty banged up so I had to spend it here.¡± He rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Well that¡¯s what East told me. I just woke up a few minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad you came to visit me.¡±


    He sat down on the bed beside her and gazed into her eyes. She looked paler than before and when he grabbed her hands they felt much colder and...fragile.


    ¡°So did you figure out what you want?¡± he asked.


    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯m coming close.¡±


    She turned her attention to the white lotus that he brought. It reminded her of her family back at home. Her mother loved flowers and was an avid collector. Though she could only collect pictures of flowers since physical ones were impossible to come across.


    ¡°So how did you come across this flower? These are very hard to find. I¡¯m sure the commander would let you just waltz it right in here.¡±


    Sev bit his bottom lip and winked.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious why don¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret,¡± he said joyfully.


    ¡°Now I feel kind of bad since I never got you anything.¡±


    Sev held her hand firmly. ¡°You¡¯re the reason I¡¯m not a corpse. You give me reason to keep fighting.¡±


    Shilha looked confused. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Heh, just something AJ and I had talked about after the mission.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Ooh, that reminds me. Where is AJ anyways? I haven¡¯t seen him in days.¡±


    Sev looked out the window. The rain had turned into a drizzle. ¡°He went out to riding and won¡¯t be back for awhile.¡±


    Shilah¡¯s eyes widened and a smile stretched across her face. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to do.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I want to ride with you on your spear,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve never ridden one and I¡¯d like to ride with you to anywhere that isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°Sure, we can go right now if you don¡¯t mind a bike with bullet holes.¡±


    Outside the base at the entrance gate, Sev leaned against his spear. He looked down at his silver watch. It¡¯s been two hours since Shilah said she¡¯d meet him here. He yawned and looked up at the grey clouds above. Just the way it is, he thought. Thought it took a bit of begging, he managed to get East to approve of him taking Shilah out for a ride. A few lip quivers and some crocodile tears later and East gave up.


    ¡°Sorry I took so long.¡±


    He looked up and saw her standing there. Her grey plaid skirt fluttered in the cool moist air. She wore an olive sweat and a white hat.


    ¡°You look really nice,¡± Sev said. ¡°If I knew we were dressing casual I wouldn¡¯t have worn my military gear.¡±


    ¡°You look really nice Sev.¡± She walked over to him and stood right beside his bike. She saw her reflection clearly in the spear¡¯s frame. She thought how silly she looked with the hat on but Sev assured her he didn¡¯t care and that she looked beautiful with it on or off.


    He grabbed by the hips and lifted her off the ground. His strong arms held her firmly as he placed her on the back of the spear. He then swung his leg over the side and sat down. He fidgeted a bit when he felt arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek pressed against his back.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± he asked in a soft voice.


    ¡°Mmmhmm.¡±


    Sev kicked up the stand and pulled down on the throttle. He walked the spear forward and when he did, Shilah grew nervous and her body shook. It was not until Sev reached back and placed his hand on leg that she felt better. It was something about him, when he touched her she always felt as ease even in the worst situations.


    After walking the spear out for a bit, he lifted up his legs and began to pick up speed. The road felt smoother than normal, maybe he didn¡¯t notice or maybe the roads just wanted to be nice for a change. He went at a constant speed, never exceeding past forty miles per hour. He wanted her to experience everything.


    ¡°Hey Shilah, you can open your eyes if you want,¡± he whispered.


    She clenched tighter on his shirt and opened her eyes. The wet air brushed against her face as they rode along. She gazed at the vast distant desert. The sun had begun to set off in the distance. But for some reason it felt static, standing between the grey clouds above and the moist dark sand that glimmered like thousands of gems in the distance. It was like she was in a tunnel and the sun¡¯s light was shining in through an opening.


    ¡°This is amazing,¡± she said, pressing her cheek against his back. Just a half mile away she saw AJ driving along the desert on his spear. Sand went out from underneath his wheels like a wave people used to surf in the old days. He noticed them riding along and smiled before changing slowing down and changing course.


    ¡°Guess AJ is a true gentleman huh?¡± Sev said.


    ¡°He¡¯s just a good friend,¡± Shilah said. ¡°Just like your a great person for doing this.¡±


    ¡°I did this because I love you.¡±


    Shilah felt her heart pounding and her face blush red. It had been the first time, in the single year the¡¯ve been together, that he finally said those two words. It felt as amazing as she thought it would.


    ¡°You know these roads go on forever, right?¡± Sev asked.


    ¡°That means we can ride along like this forever.¡±


    Sev smiled. ¡°We could if gas wasn¡¯t the problem.¡±


    After riding around in bliss for a good hour, Shilah had finally figured out what she wanted. It wasn¡¯t a bike ride but something else. It wasn¡¯t something one could buy at the store. Sev couldn¡¯t use his powers for this wish nor could he use his sword. It was something which required only him and him alone to do.


    ¡°Sev, I know what I want for my one wish.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I thought this bike ride was your wish,¡± he said.


    She snuggled her face into his soft sweater. ¡°No, this was just a simple want. What I wish for is for you to be there on my final day. I want the last person that I see to be you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a wish I can easily grant,¡± he said. ¡°I promised the last things your eyes will see are my eyes looking into them.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Thank you.¡±

 CHAPTER 8

    The smoke billowed from the tip of East¡¯s cigarette as she twirled between her fingers. She sat leaned back in his office chair. The sun¡¯s light bled their way through the cracks between the blinds. The ceiling fan above them rotated very slowly. It felt like an eternity had past. Across from her was AJ. He sat with his hands tucked in his pockets and a foot stuck out. He had a smug look on his face from having completed his third mission...successfully.


    ¡°So what did you call me in for this time commander?¡± AJ asked.


    East leaned forward and smashed the cigarette into the ashtray beside her. Bent and twisted, it joined the array of other dead cigarettes she had smoked today. She stared at AJ with sharp eyes and a snake like gaze.


    ¡°You and Sev both went on the same mission together right?¡± East asked.


    AJ nodded his head.


    East grabbed a folder from one of the stacks on her desk and placed it down on the table between them. She opened up the folder which revealed Sev¡¯s typed report about the events that happened on yesterday¡¯s mission.


    ¡°...Let me guess, there are some inconsistencies,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°Yes but then again you both fought different a different enemy in different areas,¡± she said. ¡°What my concern is about this bit right here. He talks about the story the girl told him right before you...killed her.¡±


    ¡°I was only doing my job,¡± AJ justified.


    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem. He said she described a black object soaring in the sky and dropping bombs. The girl probably didn¡¯t know what she saw but my guess is that it was a B-29 Stealth Bomber.¡±


    ¡°A stealth bomber?¡±


    East closed the folder. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a type of aircraft used during the war. One of the smaller ones, it was used to bomb cities without being detected.¡±


    During the war bombs were mostly used over conventional ground forces. Air superiority won battles and those with the most airpower claimed victory. When the countries started running out of bombs to drop they switched to the bombs they weren¡¯t allowed to use.


    Atomic Bombs; nuclear warfare.


    ¡°So what do you want us to do about it?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Sev won¡¯t be going,¡± East said. ¡°His girlfriend...doesn¡¯t have much to live. I thought it was best to leave him off this mission.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ll be going alone?¡±


    East smirked. ¡°No, you¡¯ll be going with sergeant Harlot.¡±


    Harlot was the woman who AJ had saved earlier. The last time he saw her was in the medical facility. East had her hand permanently ruined so she couldn¡¯t be a soldier. This way East¡¯s superiors wouldn¡¯t have her killed.


    ¡°I thought Harlot was badly injured,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain that it a bit. Let me first explain your mission.¡±


    Years ago, US forces had air bases located around the country. As the war grew closer to home these air bases were destroyed. Without their airbases, the US lost its air superiority and relied on conventional infantry and ground combat. There hasn¡¯t been a flying vehicle in years, no military aircraft nor commercial airliner. If what the girl said was true then there maybe an air base still operational somewhere. AJ¡¯s mission was to head westward towards the badlands where reports of mysterious explosions came from.


    ¡°I understand my mission but why hasn¡¯t anyone else found out about this?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°The area is in a highly radioactive area,¡± East said. ¡°The US is the only country with access two highly resistant radioactive suits. Other countries probably heard about this but just can¡¯t get close. So suggest you be careful.¡±


    ¡°...And what about Harlot?¡± AJ asked.


    East took a deep breath. ¡°Turns out Harlot knows the area fairly well and has witnessed these stealth bombers first hand. She¡¯s seen them flying around. That¡¯s why the superiors wanted her fixed up so she could help us find the airbase.¡±


    AJ smirked. ¡°So the airbase is more important than their secret russian vaccine?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s corrected. But she¡¯ll also be under constant supervision.¡±


    ¡°By who?¡±


    East openly avoided the question. ¡°You should head to the main gate right about now.¡±


    AJ rolled his eyes and got up. Before he walked out the room he stopped in the middle of the doorway and looked back over his shoulder at East. He stared at her for a moment before he spoke.


    ¡°Do you think your superiors are all dead and that we¡¯re all taking orders from ghost?¡±


    ¡°Everyone died and this is hell. We just haven¡¯t realized it yet,¡± East responded.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    AJ shut the door on his way out.


    Outside the office, Harlot was standing outside the door in the hallway, her head held down and arms were crossed. She looked up right when AJ came walking out. She wore standard US combat gear. Grey desert camo and a kevlar vest to allow her to hold extra ammunition. She held her helmet under her arms. It covered her head and came with an standard issued gas mask to survive chemical attacks.


    ¡°Hey Harlot, you seem lively.¡±


    Harlot smiled and stepped into the middle of the hallway. ¡°Yeah, just found out I won¡¯t be shipped back to backwater village. I¡¯ll be able to keep fight¡¯nfor the US.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be doing much fighting on our mission,¡± AJ said.


    She tapped the head of helmet. ¡°It¡¯s only a simple scout¡¯n mission but ya never know right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but don¡¯t you think¡¯ this mission is kind of weird?¡± he asked. ¡°If stealth bombers are really flying around then who''s flying them?¡±


    Harlot didn¡¯t have a definite answer. The best answer would have been ghost which in this day in age, seems it could be a possibility. If it was ghost she wouldn¡¯t be surprised. She¡¯s seen some things that would make anyone believe anything. Unless they said they¡¯ve found a place where plants thrive then she¡¯d call bullshit.


    ¡°So how is your hand?¡± AJ asked.


    Harlot looked down at her left hand. It felt numb but she could still move it. Sometimes it would twitch occasionally on it¡¯s own. For her it seemed stranged. The doctors at first told her she¡¯d never be able to move it again, it was dead. But when she pointed out to commander East she knew about the location of the explosions, the doctors magically were able to fix her hand.


    ¡°It aight and I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem so don¡¯t worry,¡± she said.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s get going then.¡± AJ started walking down the hall when he felt Harlot grab his shoulder. He turned back around and looked down at her.


    ¡°M¡¯ask ya something,¡± she said. ¡°When ya fought against that spectre what did ya say to her?¡±


    ¡°Nothing important,¡± AJ replied.


    ¡°If it¡¯s noth¡¯n important than why did she look like she saw the end of the world when ya whispered into her ear?¡±


    AJ didn¡¯t answer the question even when met with Harlot¡¯s prying glare. He turned around and walked away. Whether or not he told her wouldn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like she¡¯d be able to do anything with the information anyways.


    ***


    The town was a shanty place built off the side of the black road. The homes were held together by rusted nails and were made of rusted thin sheets of metals. There doors were of bedsheets or nothing at all. The more luxurious homes were made of old builds that had collapsed over time. These two story builds with collapsed walls were used as makeshift medical hospitals and military post. US armed soldiers who looked more like bandits than soldiers, stood guard in one of the two story buildings. Armed with snipers they sentried the northern desert for signs of bandits or worst; russian soldiers.


    AJ rode up into town on his spear with Harlot on his back. He came to a slow stop in the middle of town where they were greeted by the commanding officer in town. A middle aged man with a strong jaw and beard that hadn¡¯t been shaved in months. He came over to them, rubbing his rugged hand through his brown straight hair full of grey strands. A result of coming to an old age.


    ¡°Hey there spectre,¡± he said, holding a salute.


    AJ and Harlot saluted as well. ¡°Hello sir, I¡¯m N3 spectre AJ, and this is sergeant Harlot. We came because of your call about bombings in the distance?¡±


    ¡°Yeah my men and I have been hearing explosions coming from over the mountains behind the town,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re worried that the Russians are testing new tank vehicles or have access to some new kind of cannon. If they get bored of testing it on the desert they might try and test it on some live targets.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know that the bombings were suspected to be stealth bombers being flown around. He figured they were just Russians with big guns in some radioactive area. Harlot tried to correct him about it but AJ stopped her. AJ figured if this man was suppose to know then he¡¯d know.


    The commander rubbed his head and laughed. ¡°Sorry but I forgot to introduce myself. Got so wrapped up in telling you the problem that I forgot to give my name.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright sir,¡± Harlot said.


    ¡°My name is Carter,¡± he said, shaking AJ¡¯s hand and then Harlot¡¯s. ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll take you to the command post just north of here.¡±


    Harlot and AJ followed behind Carter as he lead them through the town¡¯s cramp streets. AJ looked forward, ignoring what Harlot couldn¡¯t. People lied broken against houses, wearing rags and torn cloth. The children were filthy, with dirt and grime covering their faces and hands. They¡¯d look up at Harlot and AJ without saying anything.


    The people peaked out of their homes to see the two new faces dawning down the street. Women cradled their children and men held loads over their shoulders. They felt relieved to see a spectre in town, felt safer.


    AJ looked back and saw a banged up white pickup driving down the street. It carried six rugged looking soldiers; tattered armor stained with blood, beards grown for months and tattoos covered their arms. One soldier mounted the machine gun whilst the other three sat in the back. The vehicle slowed to a halt right behind AJ and Harlot and the driver leaned out of the window.


    ¡°Hey Cart!¡± he shouted.


    Carter turned around and waved back. ¡°Hey Mike, you¡¯re already back?¡±


    Mike wore a cap backward and held a fat cigar in his mouth. He stepped out of the vehicle and geastured the others to stay put. Walking over to Carter, he noticed AJ and Harlot, to faces he wasn¡¯t familiar with.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the new folks?¡± he asked.


    ¡°This is N3 spectre AJ and sergeant Harlot,¡± Carter said.


    Mike leaned closer to Carter. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± he whispered, glancing at AJ out the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Overlords sent them here,¡± Carter said. ¡°They¡¯re going to investigate the strange explosions we¡¯ve been hearing.¡±


    Overlords were the official name used by military personnel to referred the command center. Where all missions are issued from and where wars plans are conducted.


    ¡°I know but I don¡¯t really want these people here because you know.¡±


    ¡°I do know. Don¡¯t worry Mike. I¡¯m gonna get Vick to take them up to the mountains. They don¡¯t be here for too long.¡±


    Mike leaned away and nodded his head. ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    ¡°Come on you two, we still need to get to the command post,¡± Carter said, waving AJ and Harlot on.


    ¡°Actually Carter, I¡¯m going to be scouting around for awhile,¡± AJ said. ¡°Harlot will go with you if that¡¯s alright.¡±


    Carter cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Well this place is heavily patrolled so there is no need to scout.¡±


    ¡°Enemy spectres could be hiding in flash step. I want to go check to see if they¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you able to sense them?¡± Carter asked.


    ¡°Yes but you never know.¡±


    Carter was reluctant to allow AJ to scout around the place but gave in. ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t be too long alright.¡±


    AJ nodded his head and disappeared, followed by a loud boom.


    Mike¡¯s jaw dropped and threatened to drop the cigar from his mouth. ¡°Where¡¯d the fella go?¡±

 CHAPTER 9

    Harlot leaned against the steel balcony outside the building. Children below played in the rubble, kicking a ball around. Explosions boomed at a low tune beyond the black mountains in the distance. Each boom was followed by a flash of light that shimmered a bit before dimming black. She looked down at her left hand that constantly twitched. She noticed AJ also had that problem with his. Maybe the twitching signified that something was wrong, she didn¡¯t know. To her it felt like a side effect from being wounded.


    AJ appeared beside her followed by the whoosh of wind traveling behind him. He turned around and leaned back against the balcony. With a cool posture he smiled at her. She glanced down at his fingers and like she suspected, they were twitching.


    ¡°So is everything alright?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve found nothing out of the ordinary,¡± he told her.


    ¡°M¡¯ask ya something, why does your hand constantly twitch?¡±


    He looked down at his hand. ¡°I subconsciously think I¡¯m in constant danger. My hand it trying to grab my sword.¡±


    ¡°My hand also does that.¡±


    ¡°Your hand it trying to grab your gun. It feels you¡¯re in danger and trying to protect you.¡±


    Days ago when Harlot was transporting the vaccine, her convoy was attacked by russian soldiers and a russian spectre. It was the first time she¡¯d been under shot at in a long time. She remembered the bullets piercing through the metal frame of the truck. The bullets splattering the brains of her comrades against the sides.


    When she looked down at her hand it was completed splintered. Flesh was torn and ripped from it. She hadn¡¯t been shot, but it was injured. She stared down and saw at the base of her feet, the half breathing body of the a Atom. Atom had been the spectre sent to protect them from russian forces. He lied in the puddle of his own blood that spilled from his torso and mouth.


    Ever since that moment, her hand had been twitching. Her trigger finger flinching, trying to shoot a gun she didn¡¯t hold.


    ¡°AJ how old are ya really?¡± she asked.


    He hesitated to answer, caught off guard by a strange question. Anyone who looked at him could easily have said his age.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°You look eighteen but...you don¡¯t act or seem eighteen.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Physically I¡¯m eighteen but mentally I¡¯m much older. It¡¯s one of the curses of being a spectre. You live longer than anyone else but...at the same time you die younger.¡±


    She smiled because she didn¡¯t understand what he meant. She guessed it was an inside spectre joke or saying.


    ¡°So how is Sev doing?¡±


    He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The last time I saw him, he was riding his bike out with his girlfriend. I kept my distance from him for the past three days.¡±


    ¡°Are you two close?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Him and I, we¡¯re just soldiers who work together so much we learned to bear each other''s presence. I guess you can call that friendship.¡± He looked down over his shoulder at the children playing below.


    ¡°I noticed Carter and that one soldier talking earlier,¡± she said.


    ¡°You mean Mike?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, It was when Mike first rolled up in the truck. They were whispering something to one another and glancing back at us.¡±


    ¡°I noticed that too,¡± he said.


    ¡°Is that why you went out scouting?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, I felt something and wanted to check it out.¡±


    Like other spectres, AJ can also sense the presence of another one of his kind. This was a skill, a third eye that allowed spectres to detect one another. Even if one is in flash step and the other one isn¡¯t. Earlier today when him and Harlot entered the town, he left to go scout.


    Under the brilliant sun¡¯s blazing heat, he scouted the nearby area for what he knew was a spectre. The signal felt weak, wasn¡¯t killing intent, so it was hard to pinpoint where it came from. He skulked through the inner streets, the cramped pathways and open road that past through the town. The farther he got away from the center of town the stronger the signal became.


    There was a small shoddy shack like house on the outskirt of the town. It sit lopsided on a hill with shutters made of thin rusted sheets of metal. Walking across the desert, AJ noticed a small boy lying on top the the hood a pale crimson pickup truck. It sat beside the outside with a broken windshield and two wheels missing.


    The boy gazed up at the blue sky above, the white puffy clouds sat frozen in the air. He noticed AJ¡¯s black figure closing in on him and lifted up. He stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.


    ¡°Hey you!¡± he shouted, his words sounded slurred and lagged behind his mouth movement. ¡°How are you moving normally?¡± He realized his words sounded weird and covered his mouth.


    AJ¡¯s hand started to twitch and he halted just feet from the boy. The signal was faint but it was no doubt coming from the boy himself. He started to project his thoughts into the boy¡¯s mind. An ability that allowed spectre¡¯s to easily talk to one another.


    ¡°I know this seems weird, but think about what you want to say from now on.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The boy smiled. ¡°Wow I can hear you in my mind.¡±


    ¡°Lucky for you, projecting ones thoughts comes naturally to spectres,¡± AJ said. ¡°Now let me ask you something, what a spectre like yourself is doing here?¡±


    ¡°Spectre?¡± The boy didn¡¯t know what that was.


    ¡°Uh, nevermind what I said. Are you ok?¡±


    The boy shook his head. ¡°No. everyone except for me and you is frozen.¡± To his ignorance the boy didn¡¯t know he was in flash step, he didn¡¯t even know what it was. This worried AJ because this meant the boy could have aged mentally days, months or even years. But, the way the boy acted told him he¡¯s only been in flash step for about an hour in real time, maybe less.


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± AJ asked.


    The boy shook his head again. ¡°No, I just know that everyone moves slowly. When I pick something up and let go, it doesn¡¯t fall as they should.¡±


    AJ stepped closer to the truck and leaned back against it. ¡°You¡¯re in flash step right now,¡± he said, looking up at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s what spectre¡¯s like me call it. Everything moves slowly because you¡¯re moving at a quicker rate and experiencing things at a quicker rate.¡±


    The boy nodded his head but didn¡¯t understand what bit of what AJ was saying. ¡°Then how are you moving at the same speed as me?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just moving at the same speed...that¡¯s all.¡±


    For someone so  young to have entered flash step something must have happened. Children like this boy must have been under extreme conditions to have done so. A natural instinct for survival? AJ wasn¡¯t sure but that was the only guess he thought of.


    ¡°Hey kid, what¡¯s your name?¡± he asked.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Matt.¡±


    ¡°Alright Matt, what happened right before everything slowed down?¡±


    Matt averted his eyes and was hesitant to tell AJ. ¡°Um...my dad started to hit...my mom again. After he finished with her he looked at me. I wanted him to stop and that¡¯s what he did. That¡¯s what everyone did.¡±


    ¡°That sounds pretty rough kid,¡± AJ said. ¡°Where are you parents right now?¡±


    Matt looked at the shoddy out next to them.


    ¡°Alright, let me just it out.¡±


    The dry wooden floorboards creaked as he went into the house. The bleak light entered through the window and dust particles glimmered in its light. The living room¡¯s couch was tossed on it¡¯s back and books were thrown from the shelves and scattered on the floor. He took careful steps, walking around the books and made his way to the kitchen.


    Through the open door, he glanced at the scene before him. For him it was too hard to stare at such a scene. His finger¡¯s started to twitch faster as he stared longer. The man, scruffed beard and white shirt covered in dirt, gripped his wife by the collar of her pink shirt. Her eyes were wide as she her hands above her face. The man was in mid swing, his fist already had a bit of blood stained on the knuckles. A frozen ominous scene that didn¡¯t go anywhere.


    AJ reached for his sword but didn¡¯t pull it out. What was he going to do? Kill the man? At that moment he remembered what he wanted to do. He wanted to save people. But what¡¯s the point if he had to kill other people to do so. It was backwards like this backwards world he lived in. But the boy¡¯s father, he thought, was...a horrible man. He didn¡¯t deserve a wife and child but he also didn¡¯t deserve to die. That¡¯s what AJ thought.


    He came back outside back into the warm heat. Dusting off his cloths, he glanced at the boy having done nothing to change anything. There was no point in helping Matt at this point His body would grow tired and flash step would then wear off, but that could take hours in real time; days he¡¯d experience. There wasn¡¯t much of a choice. AJ could have taught him but chose not to. It was better and the boy what eventually learn to control flash step on his own.


    Matt saw AJ walking away and hopped off the hood of the car. He went up behind AJ only to see him turn around. A single glance from his glimmering red eyes and...and he slowed to a halt.


    ¡°Hey mister, where are you going?¡± Matt asked.


    ¡­


    ¡°Mister?¡±


    AJ had flashed stepped out and was now moving at regular speed. For him, Matt was too fast to see, boy might as well been invisible. A cool breeze rolled through and brushed across his face. He heard screams, feminine screams coming from inside the house. These screams were muted out by the low booms echoing from beyond the black mountains in the distance.


    The same booms Harlot and him heard right now. He shook his head and stepped back away from the balcony.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Harlot asked. ¡°Remembered somethin wrong?¡±


    He held his head down and looked at his hand. ¡°Just how powerless I am,¡± he said, slowly closing his hand into a fist.


    Harlot didn¡¯t understand what he meant by the that. But she guessed it was just the way is was.


    ***


    A muddy light gleamed on Sev¡¯s forehead as he sat in the chair beside Shilah¡¯s bed. A thin white sheet, frail like her, covered her body and face. A doctor, minutes before, had came it to place it over her and wrote the time on his notepad for later use. The time was, 9:00 PM. For everyone it had been a minute, for Sev...it had been hours. Hours which he used to say everything he wanted to say in the little time he had. In this dimly lit room, he stared at her body and tried to cry. But he eyes remained dry.


    The door creaked open and East stepped into the room. She placed her warm hand on his shoulder and looked down with sorrow filled eyes. The kind of eyes he¡¯d only seen once before. It meant she cared this time.


    ¡°I came as soon as I heard,¡± she said in a calm voice. ¡°Want me to give you a moment?¡±


    Sev wiped the dried tears from his eyes. ¡°No, I already said everything I wanted to say.¡± He stood up, scooting the chair back, and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d need?¡±


    ¡°Tell me something, did you cry when commander Adams died?¡± he asked. ¡°Or were your tears as dried up as mines are.¡±


    A spectre and commander, Adams was former head of this military base and also mentor to both Sev and East. He taught Sev how to fight while he taught East how to lead. The only base that withstood attacks from all directions while under Adams¡¯ command, he ran it at peak performance though resources were low. Soldiers died but never died in droves and he never accepted any civilians inside the walls. Something him and East were always at odds about.


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t able to,¡± East said. ¡°The world¡¯s so dried up it took my tears away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I feel right about now,¡± Sev said. He stared down at Shilah¡¯s body. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for treating you the way I did when Adam died. You did care.¡±


    East reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. There was no smoking allowed in the medical facility but she didn¡¯t care at that point. There was too much going on anyways to follow rules. She pulled out too cigarettes and handed one to Sev and then held the other one in her mouth. She flicked her lighter a bit and then lit both her¡¯s and Sev¡¯s.


    Sev inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs as he gazed out the window at the grey sea the span the distance. Smoke billowed from his mouth and out his nose.


    ¡°So where is AJ at?¡± he asked.


    She tucked her hands in her pocket and talked with the cigarette in her mouth. ¡°I sent him on a mission with Harlot.¡±


    He took another hit from his cigarette and held the smoke in his lungs for a good second before blowing it out. ¡°You mean the girl that had her hand messed up?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go out and save him,¡± Sev said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s already in trouble.¡±


    ¡°You can find the missions spec on my desk,¡±she said as Sev stepped out of the room.

 CHAPTER 10

    AJ lied in bed, listening to the sound of music on the radio. It was an smooth sung song from the 1950¡¯s, a hundred years ago. He stared up at the ceiling fan that rotated at a slow place. Natural light came in through the open window and lit half of the dark room. Yesterday he suggested that stayed the night before heading out for their mission. This way they were able to get situated, but really he needed time to get his mentality in order. He wondered if what he did was right. Should he have left the kid in flash step? He was able to handle it so why should the kid? He also wondered how he could have gone about dealing with the domestic violence. The only thing that came across his mind was kill the man. That wasn¡¯t the right idea, he knew.


    There was a knock at the door and he looked over and saw Harlot walk into the room. She wore her combat gear and had her assault rifle strapped over her back and her helmet under her right arm.


    ¡°Sorry did I disturb you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just thinking about stuff that¡¯s all,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh and what are you thinking about?¡± she asked.


    There was a brief pause between his next sentence. Then he smirked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about sex that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°...Um, that¡¯s cool I guess.¡± She wasn¡¯t too sure about his answer and noticed the brief pause before it. She looked to her right and saw AJ¡¯s sword sitting in the corner under the shadows. She kneeled down in front of it and rubbed her hand against the smooth blade. The metal was dull and stained with red blood.


    ¡°Where did you get this sword from?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Standard issue given to all spectres,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use guns?¡±


    ¡°Gun¡¯s don¡¯t work well in flash step¡±


    Throughout war countries have developed weapons designed to be used by, and to kill, spectres. They were made from highly dense microscopic artificial metal called, Alvoy. Most weapons came in shape of blades but others were gun designed. These weapons allowed spectres to condense and fire their hitek energy in a controlled manner.


    After the war, the technology was lost and recreating it became impossible. These weapons soon became as valuable as oil, clean water and vegetation.


    ¡°So what did you come here for?¡± AJ asked.


    Harlot looked back over her shoulder. ¡°Just came to see if you were ready.¡± She turned back to look at the sword.


    ¡°I will in a second,¡± he said. ¡°I just want to think about some stuff real quick.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just flash step and speed it up?¡±


    ¡°That reminds me of something.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There is this joke among spectres I know of. It talks about how this guy and girl would always have sex during combat. Spend hours doing it. But since they¡¯d flash step, it would have only been a second.¡± AJ rolled out of bed and placed his feet on the floor. He smiled and looked at Harlot. ¡°Eventually other spectres actually started doing this and even been so bold as to have sex with people. They¡¯d never know it because it happened so fast.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fuck up,¡± Harlot muttered.


    He walked over to the door and glanced back at Harlot. ¡°You have white stuff around your mouth.¡± He then left.


    Harlot quickly wiped her dry mouth and looked down at her hand. There was nothing there. You bastard, she thought.


    AJ walked down the hospital now turned into a makeshift operations base. Open wires hung from the ceiling and crept along the walls. The air was quiet except for the sound of his footsteps on the sand covered floor. A few walls had caved in leaving the hall open to the outside elements.


    He stood still when Mike came walking out of a room in front of him. Mike didn¡¯t look back and seemed to headed in the same direction as him. He remembered earlier when he first saw Mike. The man was whispering something to Carter, and staring back at him out the corner of his eye. The man was eyeing him and he felt something off about it ever since.


    Staying close towards the wall, he skulked behind Mike, making sure to stay just far enough that he still had his line of sight. Mike turned the corner ahead and went up the stairs towards the east wing of the building. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    AJ held it sword tight, not to fight but to kept it from jangling on his back. He walked up the stairs and slowed to a halt at the top. He peered over the top step and saw Miking walking down to a room at the end of the corridor. Mike looked back for a moment but didn¡¯t seem to see AJ. He then turned back around and knocked on the door. Carter opened the door and stepped the side letting Mike in.


    AJ saw a third man, tall but out of focus, in the room as well. When the door closed he stood up and tiptoed over to the door. He placed his ear against the cold metal door to listen in on what was going on. Ever since he met Carter, he¡¯d always had his suspicious about him. He focused as the men on the other side of the door began to talk. There voices were muffled but he was able to make out what they were saying.


    ¡°So did you find it¡¯s exact location?¡± Carter asked.


    ¡°Yeah, Victor and I found it just three clicks north of here,¡± Mike said. ¡°Even found a way inside as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I need you guys to move out now. We¡¯re not sure how long all of that will be there. Also I don¡¯t want the overlords finding out about this. God knows what they¡¯ll do if they find out about it.¡±


    ¡°No problem Cart, Victor and I can handle it.¡±


    ¡°Sir, what about the spectre and that sergeant girl?¡± Victor asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re only here to investigate the mysterious explosions,¡± Carter said. ¡°They¡¯ll be too busy to bother with us.¡±


    ¡°But what if they start snooping around?¡± Mike asked.


    ¡°Victor here has been in constant communication with the Gaia,¡± Carter said. ¡°If that spectre snoops around too much we have access to spectres of our own. They¡¯ll take care of him for us.¡±


    They¡¯re working with the Gaia? AJ thought. Who are they?


    ¡°Alright, lets hurry this.¡± Mike said. ¡°I want to see pale rider take effect.¡±


    The door suddenly swung wide open and Mike looked out into the hallway. AJ had flash stepped and hidden down the stairs out of view. Panting and out of breath, He lied against the stairs until he heard the door closed. The door¡¯s sudden open caught him off guard. If these soldiers are really working against the United States, he¡¯d have to tell East about it. High on his heels, he fled down the stairs and through the hallway back to his room.


    He swung open his door and slammed it close behind him. Harlot who was lying in his bed, jumped up when he stormed into the room. She watched as he rushed over to the window to close it and then looked down at her.


    ¡°Harlot we have a problem,¡± he sternly said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± she asked. ¡°Did something happened?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was spying¡­¡± He stared at the door for a moment. Someone could have been listening on the otherside. He leaned close to Harlot and whispered the rest. ¡°These group of soldiers are defecting against the United States.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I heard Carter and Mike and some other guy talking about it. Then I heard Mike mention something called pale rider.¡±


    Pale rider was name from early christian bibles. It described the fourth horseman who brings death and was followed by Hades himself. Something with that name spelt death and had to be stopped. But did it matter?


    ¡°We have to tell commander East the new information we learned,¡± Harlot said. ¡°If these Carter and his men are a threat to the United States we need to stop them.¡±


    There was a knock on the door and AJ and Harlot quickly shifted their attention, their breaths were still and they didn¡¯t make a move. For a moment there was silence and then another knock.


    AJ walked went over to open the door. Standing outside in the hallway was Carter who had an assault rifle strapped over his shoulder. He greeted the two with a smile and asked if he could come in. AJ stepped to the side and allowed the man to make his room inside.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if this is a bad time,¡± Carter said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, we weren¡¯t doing anything important,¡± Harlot said.


    ¡°Yeah, we were just about to have sex but whatever,¡± AJ said.


    Harlot glared AJ while Carter cocked an eyebrow and gave him an amusing smirk.


    Carter gripped the strap of his assault rifle and looked at AJ. ¡°I take it you two are...fairly well rested. You two are going to be heading up to the mountains to investigate the strange noise coming from beyond it. I want to know if I could tag along with you.¡±


    AJ glanced at Harlot and then looked back at Carter. ¡°The place is highly radioactive. It doesn¡¯t affect me and Harlot has a suit. If you come with us you¡¯ll only get sick.¡±


    ¡°Well heres a fact, I¡¯m already sick¡ªbeen sick with the plague for a few days now so I don¡¯t have much time to live.¡±


    The plague has been ravaging human¡¯s for years. It is a slow acting plague that inhabits the body for days and then explodes with dire effects. Bleeding from the eyes and total organ shutdown are some of the worst but effects always vary from person to person.


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable, but I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°Please allow me to come along. If there are hostiles in the area like we suspect then you¡¯ll need someone who has a good eye to back you up.¡±


    Carter may not have looked like it, but he was the kind of man to put others before himself. He¡¯d give anything to save the people he swore an oath to protect. Even if it meant he had to sacrifice himself...or others. He would have continued fighting for others if he wasn¡¯t stricken with the plague.


    AJ didn¡¯t want to bring Carter along with them. It meant they¡¯d have to go on their mission instead of following Mike and Victor. But he had no choice.


    ¡°Alright, Harlot grab your gear. Sir, you can come along with us. But are you sure your sickness won¡¯t affect you in battle?¡±


    ¡°You know how the plague works. I¡¯m healthy until it kicks in. Then I die.¡± Carter said that half heartedly.

 CHAPTER 11

    Their boots kicked up pale dust as they went through the mountains. AJ took lead, holding his unsheathed sword tightly. He¡¯d glance back at Carter ever few moments or so. If their eyes met Carter would smile back at him. He didn¡¯t trust Carter, felt he was trying to lure them away from the real problem. But what what could he do. This was his mission given to him by his commander.


    Harlot stared down at the radioactive meter while they walked. She looked through her red visor as the arrow jittered in the left corner. The closer they got the more the arrow shook.


    ¡°Guys we¡¯re getting closer to the radioactive zone.¡± she said.


    Carter ran his hand against the jagged mountain side as they walked through the cramped pathway. The only way through the mountains that didn¡¯t take them all around. The mountains around them rose high into the air and curved inward, casting the shadow down on them. Above them the clouds were grey that hid the even greyer skies above.


    ¡°You guys here that?¡± Carter asked.


    ¡°Here what?¡± AJ and Harlot replied.


    ¡°Exactly, I don¡¯t hear any explosions,¡± Carter said.


    ¡°The reports said the explosions only happen in burst,¡± Harlot told them. ¡°Maybe this is the time when the explosions are not happening.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then we should keep moving,¡± AJ said.


    It took them an hour to pass through the mountains. At the end it opened up at the end to a cliff where they stood at the edge. They gazed out at the distance horizon. The desert was filled with craters, big to small, each had smoke still billowing from inside them. Ruins of what appeared to be a city lied flattened in the distance. Nothing stood taller than a story.


    ¡°What do you think happened here?¡± Carter asked.


    Harlot took a black binoculars and used them to get a better view. There were remnants of the war scattered throughout the land. Aircrafts; bombers and fighter jets and sky fortresses were all destroyed. Their parts mangled and twisted and sprinkled across the desert. The ones that were still intact were riddled with bullet holes and left motionless to their decay


    ¡°Commander was right, there must still be an airfield still operational,¡± she said.


    ¡°We should get closer so we can get a better idea of what¡¯s going on,¡± AJ suggested.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Carter said, grabbing AJ by the shoulder. He pointed his finger into the distant horizon where a what were seven squadrons. Each squadron contained seven aircrafts. They casted their ominous shadow across the dead world below. Their engines buzzed like a swarm of bees and their metal frames clattered because they were not bolted down properly. Some aircrafts billowed out smoke from their torso.


    They flew for a moment and then the show started. The hatches under the body swung open and bombs, metal spheres with spikes fell from them. They fell fast and hit hard. Fiery explosions lit the area in a bright orange and yellow light. The booms rocked the cliff they stood on and the shockwaves threatened to knock them over.


    One after another, big and small, the bombs fell. What they were targeting, AJ wasn¡¯t sure of. Neither Harlot or Carter were sure either. The land had be destroyed beyond redemption and this was just overkill.


    The bombing run lasted for only forty minutes. They watched for forty minutes. Then the aircrafts turned around and headed back to where they came from.


    Harlot looked with her binoculars and saw a black figure, faded and fuzzy from the distance, sitting on the horizon. She guessed it would have to be the airfield the aircrafts all came from. They¡¯ve confirmed the source of the explosions but now...now they wanted to go investigate the aircrafts¡¯ origins. They had to know who was flying these aircrafts and what they were going to use them for.


    ¡°How about that for a show huh?¡± Carter remarked, clenched onto his rifle.


    AJ nodded his head. ¡°That was insane.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Harlot.


    Carter clenched his chest and leaned back against the mountainside. ¡°You know something, that reminded me of that war battle. The time when the canadians attacked.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Harlot asked, looking back at the worn out old man.


    Carter just smiled. ¡°The canadians had managed to get their hands on some explosive weapons. grenade launchers, RPGs, and flamethrowers. Little bastards attacked us during the night and almost wiped us out. I remember seeing explosions just like that one when I was evacuating the people. All be it they were smaller.¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright?¡± she asked.


    He took a deep breath and slowly let it all out. ¡°I¡¯d like to thank you two for coming up here with us.¡±


    AJ reached for his sword. ¡°Aw hell...¡± He felt liquid build up through his throat and then iron taste of blood as it spurted from his mouth. He looked down and saw a blood stained blade, his blood, thrusted through his body. It tore his flesh as it was pulled out of him.


    His legs went limped and he fell forward, hitting the cold hard ground. He glared up and saw Victor, the third man from before, stepping over his body. He carried a sword, AJ¡¯s sword, in his hand. Victor was a spectre, someone quicker than most. Without AJ noticing, he grab his sword and used it to stab him.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Harlot shouted, raising her rifle. Before she was able to point it fully at Carter, he had already raised his pistol. A silver studded revolver with a red scratched barrel. She stared deep into the blackness until a flash blinded her. The gun went off with a bang. The bullet hit her right through the visor and her head jerked back and she fell on backwards on her side.


    AJ¡¯s vision began to go dark and blur out of focus. He looked at Harlot''s motionless body. Blood spilled from the hole in her visor like a stream of water he¡¯d never seen before.


    He saw Carter¡¯s boot come down between him and Harlot. He kneeled down beside him and smiled.


    ¡°Sorry about this man but we couldn¡¯t let you live,¡± he said, waving the gun along with his words. ¡°The Gaia have a special plan for us. A way to end all of this. But if you go back the commander and tell her about this¡ª well everything will be ruined. I hate to have killed your girlfriend and you¡­¡± He stared up at Victor who stood behind AJ then looked back down at him. ¡°...Well Victor killed you, but details don¡¯t matter. Just do me a favor and stay dead. You¡¯ll get the best view of how the Gaia and I bring this world back to life.¡±


    AJ¡¯s eyes grew heavy until he found them closed. He was cold but didn¡¯t shiver which was a bad sign. His hand stop twitching at least. Visions of his past started coming back to him. Visions he tried so hard to forget.


    Visions of him in a white test room. The area was brightly lit and scientist stood behind bullet proof glass far from where he stood. He was but a child, only twelve years old at the time. Short hair and baby like cheeks. He glanced down at his hands and wiggled his fingers.


    He wore a white shirt and pants made of thin cloth. His bare feet pressed down against the smooth glass floor. Below the glass was an long dark shaft that seemed to go on forever. He wasn¡¯t afraid of heights, he was afraid of falling.


    ¡°You may now begin the test,¡± a female voice said.


    The lights grew brighter and AJ shielded his eyes with his hand. Across the room three doors slid up and an android from each one stepped out. They were white droids with thin metal arms and a single cyan colored eye in the middle of their head.


    ¡°AJ, your job as a spectre is to destroy those droids using all your skills you¡¯ve acquired. They¡¯ll try and kill you so you must kill them first.¡±


    AJ nodded his head.


    ¡°Now that you understand, pick up the sword behind you. The droids won¡¯t wait for you this time.¡±


    The androids ran at AJ with top speed. Their steps agile as they barely touched the ground with their heels in the air. They clenched their fist, ready to kill him with a single strike of their fist.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He swung out his arm, snapping his fingers. The path in which his arm went ignited the air around it. The flames roared and soared towards the androids in a wave of fire. The intense burning flames melted the first android as the other two dodged out of the way of the blast.


    The second one continued its charged while the third one hung back. It cocked its arm back and the sent a bone crushing jab forward. He dove to the left at the last second, feeling the small shockwave when its fists grazed the side of his ear.


    He leapt backwards, putting a huge space between the two. Swinging both arms outward, he snapped his fingers. Like before, the air ignited in the direction he aimed. This flame wasn¡¯t a wave, it was sharp like a spear and quick. It pierced through the the second android''s chest, knocking it back and leaving a perfect sized whole. The metal around the hole melted as its torso collapsed in on itself.


    AJ turned his attention towards the last android. It hung back to scanned to scan his moves. It readied itself, raising its dukes and hunching over. It¡¯s legs bent and eye turned from cyan to a brilliant red.


    This is going to be easy, AJ thought.


    The android bursted towards AJ with lighting speed, the glass floor below it cracked and shattered. It took huge steps as it closed the gap between it and him in four steps. Like a heavyweight boxer, it launched a series of destructive jabs.


    He increased his speed, a skill only spectres could do, and weaved in and around all its attack. With it so close, he wasn¡¯t able to use his fire combustion without burning himself. With each dodge the android got faster and faster. Its punches shattering through the air and inching closer to his face.


    This android was unlike the others, it figured out how his ability worked. All it needed to do was stay close to him, keep inside his personal space and he wouldn¡¯t be able to use his attack.


    Moving backwards, AJ tripped over his own feet and fell back onto the floor. At the final glance, the android stood over him. It cocked its fist and sent a jab soaring down at him. He held his arms over his face and....nothing. He peeked over his arms and saw it was moving slower than normal. He scooted his butt back and then stood up, feet away from the robot that almost killed him.


    Around him stood others like him. There bodies vibrated out of proportion and they looked like grey blurs moving around. They darted around, moving faster than he could keep his eye on them.


    ¡°Hey kid, good job.,¡± a voice in his head said.


    AJ turned around and saw a man towering over him. He placed his rugged hand on AJ¡¯s shoulder and stooped down so that they both were at eye level. He looked at AJ with his hazel colored eyes and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, just nod if you understand me,¡± he said. ¡°Trust me, if you heard your voice you¡¯d probably sound retarded.¡±


    AJ nodded his head.


    ¡°Those figures you can kind of see that are moving around all over the place. Those are spectres using flash step. Allows us to move very fast.¡±


    AJ nodded his head long to his words.


    The man looked over at the android, it¡¯s fist was still in motion. ¡°You entered a lower form of flash step. Not as quick as ours so that¡¯s why I had to slow down so you can see me clearly and so I can talk to you.¡±


    AJ tried to speak but his words came out slow and slurred like the man said.


    The man smiled. ¡°See, I told you. Just listen for a bit. The world outside is a cruel place. Not as humble and safe as it is in here. Now that you are able to flash step you¡¯re now considered a rookie spectre. Do you know what this means?¡±


    AJ shook his head.


    ¡°It means you¡¯ll live a life of hardship, self doubt and pain. You must also choose something to fight for. In this world those who live and fight for nothing become corpses.¡±


    He patted AJ on the shoulder and stood up. ¡°Flash step will eventually wear off so I suggest you hang tight. In the mean time I suggest you use it to your fullest. I won¡¯t stop you if you decided to look up a few skirts.¡±


    AJ watched as the man turned away, but not before got a look at the silver name tag on his shirt, Adam. The man¡¯s walked away and his movement slowed. Hardship, self doubt and pain; this was not the attributes he chose for his life but are now the attributes he must work with.


    He glanced down as his open hand that turned into a fist. He was too young to understand. He looked at his fist and just went with it. A choice he¡¯d, like many others before him, will come to regret.


    A sudden shake woke AJ open. He opened his eyes and lifted up. Withy heavy breathing, he felt around his chest and stomach. The wound had vanished. He thought he was dead but it seemed his healing ability kicked in. A chilled breezed rolled through and brushed against his face. The sun had gone down and the moon and stars took their shine. The bleak light made it hard for him to see. He looked down and saw a trail of blood leading away and Harlot¡¯s body gone.


    ¡°AJ are you alright?¡± Sev asked.


    AJ turned around and saw his friend Sev standing in the entrance to mountains behind him. He wore a black longsleeve turtleneck and dark jeans with two leather belts that crossed over his crotch. Smoke billowed from his lit cigarette that glowed a dim orange color.


    After his girlfriend¡¯s death, Sev went out into the desert to help aid AJ and Harlot on their mission. When he spoke with some of the locals in town they pointed up to the mountains. When he got into the mountains that''s where he found Harlot¡¯s corpse and AJ lying near the edge of the cliffs.


    ¡°Yo man are you ok?¡± Sev asked once more.


    AJ nodded his head and struggled to get up. A sharp pain surged through his chest and his legs collapsed. Sev quickly caught AJ and wrapped his arm over his shoulder. He used his body to support AJ.


    AJ¡¯s feet dragged through the dirt as Sev carried his heavy body through the mountains while muttering how fat he was.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°W-Where is Harlot?¡± was the first thing AJ asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead so I took her back to town then came back here,¡± Sev said. ¡°Now tell me what happened.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± AJ muttered under his breath.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He pushed away from Sev and staggered back into the jagged wall. He slid down the wall and sat with his head held down, sulking away. AJ tried to fight back the tears but they rolled down his eyes. He thought of how weak he was. Harlot died because he was too foolish to see Carter was leading them into a trap. He should have cut the man down when he had the chance. Now she was dead and there was nothing he can do.


    His sobbing soon turned into laughter. A grin stretched across his face and he looked up at Sev.


    ¡°Even with all the shit I¡¯ve done...the shit I¡¯ve seen, I can still shed tears.¡±


    ¡°Hey man it¡¯s going to be alright,¡± Sev said. He didn¡¯t believe that.


    ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± AJ said. ¡°Even with all my training, all my experience I still can¡¯t protect people. They always die and I can do nothing but cry about it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still just a rookie, this is only your like what...fourth mission?¡±


    AJ slowly shook his head as he dazed out. ¡°No, ever heard of the spectre combustion phenomena?¡±


    The spectre combustion phenomena was an event that lasted five years. It struck fear into spectres and sent worries through the remaining nations who relied on spectres to fight. It was a phenomena where a spectre¡¯s body turned into charcoal as if they¡¯ve been burning for hours. Even spectres in flash step were not safe, they only burned slower.


    ¡°Yeah, I do but what does that have to do with anything?¡± Sev asked.


    ¡°That was me,¡± AJ said. ¡°I¡¯ve been on a five year mission, combusting spectres who were deemed too powerful by the United States, enemies or allies.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°They gave me some kind of experimental drug when I was younger. It enhanced my abilities and caused my body to produce adrenaline for long periods of time. I was faster than any spectre and even faster than those who were using flash step.¡±


    AJ wiped the tears from his eyes and tapped the back of his head against the wall. The experimental drug caused his body to produce adrenaline which induced flash step. It then enhanced his flash step ability even further and allowed him to move even faster towards the speed unimaginable. He was even faster than those in flash step. Given only one mission he was told to eliminate spectres deemed too powerful by the United States. He used his combustion to light them on fire, killing them instantly.


    AJ sobbed. ¡°It was horrible man, those five years felt like five hundred¡­.shit I don¡¯t know anymore.¡±


    Sev patted AJ on the shoulder. ¡°Sounds rough but you can be breaking down on me right now. I know how you feel, I lost Shilah two days ago. The difference is that I couldn¡¯t shed a damn tear because...because I lost too much.¡±


    ¡°That just means you''re stronger.¡±


    Sev shook his head. ¡°No, it just means I¡¯m use to it by now. I pretend to care about people dying but my body knows the truth. It won¡¯t let me shed crocodile tears. But you still care genouilly about people.¡±


    Sev grabbed AJ¡¯s arm and picked him up off the ground. ¡°Now tell me who did this to you so we can get him back for it.¡±


    AJ took a deep breath and recollected his composure. ¡°It was commander Carter. He killed Harlot and some guy name Victor stabbed me with my own sword.¡±


    Sev¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°Shit, are you serious? I just saw that bastard earlier today. Come on we need to go kill him.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± AJ shouted, right at Sev started to run off.


    Sev stopped and looked back. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Victor is not an ordinary spectre. He managed to steal my sword and stab me without me sensing him.¡±


    ¡°Dude if you¡¯re the one who¡¯s killed all those spectres then he shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Just combustion him and then kill Carter.¡±


    ¡°I was only that quick because of the drugs. They¡¯ve worn out months ago and I¡¯ve never been in contact with the overlords since then.¡±


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°We need to get back to base and inform East about this. We need to tell her about operation pale rider and the Gaia.¡±


    ¡°The Gaia and operation pale rider?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll explain it on our way back to base.¡±


    Sev spit his cigarette on the ground and smashed it with his the tip of his boot. ¡°No, we can¡¯t. I took Harlots body back to town. Carter said he¡¯d call a military transport to bring her body back home, but I¡¯m sure he just threw her in a ditch somewhere.¡±


    ¡°What about Victor?¡± AJ asked. ¡°He¡¯d kill us if he found out I was still alive.¡±


    ¡°Spectres can¡¯t sense other spectres if they¡¯re not flash stepping,¡± Sev said. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to sneak in the old fashion way and avoid them.¡±

 CHAPTER 12

    Streaks of lightning ripped through the black clouds above; followed by a thunderous boom that echoed down below. AJ and Sev lied on top of a hill out studying the town from a safe distance. It looked more like a military installation than a place where people lived. Soldiers carrying assault rifles, stood behind blockades at the two major roads that lead through the town. There was a tower ever thirty meters throughout the town with soldiers on mountain machineguns acting as sentries. They shined a white spotlight that bullied back the darkness.


    The two major roads rumbled as rusted tanks left their tracks in the dirt road. A convoy of three pickup trucks carrying four soldiers in each one, follow the tank as it patrolled around the outer perimeter.


    ¡°That place is heavily guard,¡± AJ said. ¡°How are we going to get in?¡±


    ¡°We move in using stealth and only kill those we can¡¯t avoid,¡± Sev said. ¡°If Victor is as powerful as you say he is, using flash step will alert him. Last thing we need is a massive fight to wear us down.¡±


    ¡°Then if that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s hurry up,¡± AJ reached into his holster and pulled out his pistol. Though spectres don¡¯t rely on them, its still issued out by the military. ¡°Where do you think Harlot¡¯s body is?¡±


    ¡°You see that hospital right to the left?¡± Sev said, looking at the tall building in the distance. It stood four stories and laid out in the shape of a cross. It¡¯s right wing was completely collapsed as if a plane had crashed through.


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s their main headquarters,¡± AJ said. ¡°I stayed there for a day so I know the place pretty good.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡±


    AJ and Sev skulked across the desert to the town. They used the darkness to obscure their presence as they geared closer and closer to the enemy. Sev grabbed AJ by the shoulder and pulled him back behind a boulder. A white tower light swept across and would have spotted them if it wasn¡¯t for Sev¡¯s quick thinking. Once the light had passed, He peeked around.


    They were right at the first blockade. Two soldiers stood soldiers stood guard and two soldiers were in the tower with one moving the spotlight.


    ¡°There are four soldier at the blockade,¡± Sev said. ¡°We can easily take them but I thinking about something.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Do you think these soldiers know what Carter is doing? If not then can¡¯t we just walk right through without having to sneak around.¡±


    AJ shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a possible but I don¡¯t want to take the chance. Let¡¯s just continue with the plan and sneak inside.¡±


    Sev looked over his shoulder and saw a soldier pointing his gun at them. He was about to fire but Sev pushed AJ against the wall and fired three quick shots from his silenced pistol. Two to the chest and one to the head. The soldier over dead.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± AJ said.


    Sev smiled. ¡°Well I guess we know they¡¯re not friendly.¡±


    ¡°Carter, Mike and Victor were talking about operation pale rider and some group called the Gaia,¡± AJ said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they got their soldiers in on it too.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re in agreement, soldiers are bad shoot them if we have too.¡±


    AJ and Sev managed to sneak through the town without having to kill anymore soldiers along the way. The closer they got the more soldiers were patrolling. Carter had his men closely guard the the hospital while leaving the outskirts lightly defended. They moved through the alleyways which made it easier to get through. They weaved around the dumpsters and wadded over the trash that filled the alley until they got to the otherside.


    AJ peaked out and looked up and down the street. Empty without a single convoy coming. Across the street was a large stretch of open field and the hospital right in the middle. There were no soldiers stationed guard on the roof of the building. With only a handful of soldiers, Carter had to station them in more important places.


    There was another flash of lightning followed by the loud crackle of thunder. Sev looked up and smelled the moist air. It had a metallic stench to it.


    ¡°Plague rain is coming,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess that why we haven¡¯t seen too many soldier around or people,¡± AJ said. ¡°They¡¯re all probably somewhere in a bunker or something.¡±


    The plague rains was nothing like normal rain. Carried inside each droplet was the plague itself and if it touched anyone they were dead. Without a cure death would occur in twelve days or less. The plague could only survive in water so once the area dried, it was safe to come out.


    ¡°Come on let¡¯s move, don¡¯t want to get trapped out here,¡± Sev said.


    AJ held back Sev as he tried to run out and pulled him back into the alley. The streets grew bright and a rumbling convoy came passing through. Both of them ducked behind a dumpster waiting for the convoy to pass. They held their breath, not out of fear but because the dumpster had a strong rotten odor.


    The rumbling of tanks and trucks grew quiet. AJ and Sev then ran out, hunched over and taking light steps across the road. Once they were acrossed they made a beeline for the hospital. They then stopped outside of the left wing. AJ looked up, it wasn¡¯t much of a jump to get up.


    ¡°Hey, Sev you mind getting me up there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know man, I¡¯ve been working out but you¡¯re kind of heavy.¡±


    AJ shoved Sev. ¡°Just shut up and throw me up there.¡±


    Sev laughed as he grabbed AJ by the waist. With one toss, he sent AJ up into the air, just high enough that he landed on the roof with ease.


    AJ kneeled down and surveyed the area with his pistol. He aimed down the sights and when he was sure it was clear; whistled for Sev to come up and join him. Unlike Sev, AJ wasn¡¯t physically strong. He couldn¡¯t pick up trucks or leap over buildings with a single bound like Sev. Hitek was his speciality and he used it with relative ease, something that Sev didn¡¯t have the skill for.


    ¡°Ok AJ, where do we go now?¡±


    AJ saw an opening where the roof had collapsed. ¡°We go through there. Once in we look for someone who¡¯d know where Harlot¡¯s body is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Mike knows, that¡¯s who took it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I know where Mike¡¯s room is. Also we should find a way to communicate with East. I¡¯m sure Carter has a telegraph line somewhere in his office.¡±


    With most satellites down, radio communication was long gone. Commanders from bases across the United States relied on landlines to communicate to one another. This meant that communication stations were fought over constantly by the remaining countries.


    AJ and Sev ran to the hole and jumped down into it. They landed in a hallway on the fifth floor of the left wing. There was no sign of enemy soldiers anywhere. Sand covered the floors with wires hanging overhead. AJ pointed his gun down the hall, looking along the sights. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Sev, you should go to Carter¡¯s office on third floor,¡± AJ said. ¡°I¡¯m going to go find Mike¡¯s room and get him to talk.¡±


    ¡°What if Victor and Carter are in there?¡±


    AJ smiled. ¡°Then don¡¯t lead them back to me.¡±


    Through the fourth floor where Mike¡¯s room was, AJ moved about in silence. He took light steps with his aiming his pistol. His finger wrap near the trigger but wasn¡¯t wrapped around. Struggling echoed from inside the room. He picked up the paced and went down the hall. At the door, he took a deep breath before reaching for the knob. The door swung open and Mike stepped out into the hallway with an arm wrapped around his neck and a gun pointed to his head.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, I said move it!¡±


    ¡°I would, but I¡¯m afraid your friend will shoot me,¡± Mike said.


    AJ saw Harlot look around¡¯s Mike shoulder. Bloody white bandages wrapped around her head and over her right eye. Her mouth almost dropped when she saw AJ standing in the hallway in front of her.


    ¡°Harlot, how are you still alive?¡± was the first thing AJ asked.


    ¡°I should be asking you that question,¡± Harlot said.


    ¡°Spectres have high regenerative abilities,¡± he answered.


    ¡°The bullet only fucked up my right eye,¡± she said. ¡°Other than losing my right eye I¡¯m pretty good.¡±


    ¡°Well you won¡¯t be after Victor catches you,¡± Mike said. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill both of you in a blink of an eye.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t able to kill me the first time,¡± AJ said.


    Mike thrusted back, knocking Harlot backwards into the the room. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out spherical object that fit right in his palm. He pressed down on the button and AJ collapsed from the sonic wave it emitted.


    The wave shook AJ¡¯s ear drums as he rolled around on the floor, covering his ears with his hand.


    ¡°What the hell did you do to him?¡± Harlot asked.


    Mike stepped over AJ¡¯s body and stood across the hallway. Holding up the sphere in between his fingers, he smiled and showed it to Harlot.


    ¡°This little doohickey right here is called a wave bomb,¡± he said. ¡°Victor supplied us soldiers with a way to fight against you spectres if we managed to get the jump on you. He gave us a whole lot of weapons. which is cool.¡±


    Harlot aimed her gun and tattered her finger on the trigger, firing three shots. Mike dove to the left out of the first two shots but the last one grazed his shoulder causing him to drop the wave bomb on the floor. The wave bomb rolled away but was still close enough that it had an affect on AJ.


    ¡°You bitch!¡± he shouted. He pulled out a gun he had hidden away in his pants leg and fired away at Harlot who slipped back into room and behind the wall. Mike stood up and stormed over into the room. Right when he stepped into the doorway, Harlot came out swinging her gun. She bashed him in the nose with the bottom end of the handle.


    He staggered back, dropping his gun on the floor. When he looked up he saw Harlot pointing the gun at him. Before she could fire the first shot, he stepped in and under the gun then grabbed her wrist. He moved her aim some it wasn¡¯t directed towards him.


    ¡°Let go you bastard!¡± Using her free hand, she clenched it into a fist and swung a punch. The blow ran across Mike¡¯s face and dug into his face. He staggered back but not before knocking the gun from her hands. It slid over to AJ who was unable to grab it.


    Mike lurched forward and held up his dukes. He sent two jabs at Harlot who managed to sway back out of the way. She side stepped out of the way of his next attack, but he recovered with another punch which she dodged too.


    Across the room was a computer desk and small laptop. Harlot waited for Mike¡¯s next attack and stepped around his punch. She stood right in front of the desk with her back leaned up against.


    Mike clenched his fist and cocked his arm pack. With all his strength he jabbed. Harlot swayed to the left and grabbed him by the pack of his neck. With one clean motion, she slammed his head into the computer screen and stepped back.


    With a loud holler, he let out a spew of slurs and curses. After that he quickly reached into his left shoe and pulled out a knife he had hidden away. It had a smooth blade and a jagged tooth back. He turned around swinging the knife. He cut through the air and forced Harlot to stepped back.


    His attacks were sporadic and all over the place. He didn¡¯t aim, only swung. Harlot held her hands close to her as she weaved out and around each of his failed attacks until she felt her back hit up against the wall.


    Mike twisted the knife so the blade was facing downward and stabbed down at Harlot. At the last moment, she grabbed his wrist, keeping the knife from coming down on her. Contested, it was sure strength that would when the fight. Harlot felt her arm shake as Mike¡¯s muscular physique made him stronger than her. Slowly the knife inched closer towards her face.


    ¡°Gonna take that other pretty eye of yours,¡± Mike laughed.


    She noticed a knife hidden between his waist and belt. The man had many knives hidden on his person but this knife would be the one that killed him. She jerked the knife out from his belt in one swift motion. She then plunged it right into his stomach and gave it a twist. She ripped it out and stabbed him in the stomach multiple times.


    A red blood stained spread out around the area she stabbed him at and blood dripped onto the floor. His eye grew wide and his jaw dropped as he let go the knife. It felt onto the floor as he staggered back, wobbling and about to collapse. Blood spilled from his mouth as he glared at her.


    ¡°Y-You bitch,¡± he said with a mouth full of blood.


    His body went limp and hit the floor with a thud.


    With mike dead, Harlot rushed out into the hallway where AJ had passed out. She ran over to the wave bomb and stomped her boot down on it, crushing it and stopping the effects. She then rushed back over to AJ where she kneeled by his side.


    ¡°AJ are you alright?¡± she asked, holding him in her arms. ¡°Come on wake up!¡± She tapped him on his cheek until his eyes started to quint and his mouth moved. He opened his eyes and looked up at her with a smile.


    ¡°You got some white stuff on your mouth,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°You idiot.¡±


    He lifted himself up, and glanced over at Mike¡¯s dead body in the room. A pool of blood expanded out from him.


    ¡°Looks like we dealt with one problem,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah but we also have ten more,¡± she said. ¡°I got Mike talking a bit and learned what operation pale rider is. They aircrafts we saw earlier were flown on auto pilot. Since the war pretty much killed everyone there was nobody around to turn them off. Which is why they kept bombing their last target over and over again.¡±


    ¡°So what are they gonna do, use them?¡±


    She nodded her head. ¡°It turns out the Gaia are an organization of spectres and soldiers who want to end the wars between all the remaining countries. They¡¯re going to use the aircrafts to bomb each capital city and then use the aircrafts to assert their dominance.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯ll kill millions of people!¡± he said. ¡°We can¡¯t let them do that!¡±


    ¡°It gets worst,¡± she said. ¡°Pale rider is a two part operation. Second operation involves them recreating the spectre weapons using the schematics and design from your sword.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why they sent out that distress beacon to lure us here.¡± He stood up, dusting up the back and front of his pants.


    ¡°Alright you ready to flash step and win this?¡± she asked.


    He looked distressed. ¡°Um, about that. I can¡¯t use flash step.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Somehow Victor is faster than me even when we¡¯re both in flash step. As long as I don¡¯t use it he can¡¯t sense me.¡±


    ¡°We can use one of those wave bombs Mike used on you?¡±


    He reached down and picked his gun off the ground. He cocked the it back, disappearing the empty bullet case, and smiled. ¡°Sure but we¡¯ll have to get the drop on Victor without him noticing us.¡±


    ¡°Easier said than done.¡±


    AJ took out his radio communicator he kept in his back pocket. It didn¡¯t rely on satellite and allowed him to speak to others in close vicinity.


    ¡°Hey Sev, I got Harlot, turns out she¡¯s still alive.¡± He waited for a moment, there was a brief in static. ¡°Sev are you there?¡±


    ¡°Hello there boy.¡± The voice was Carter.


    ¡°Carter, you bastard, what did you do with Sev?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry yourself, Sev is...mostly fine,¡± he said. ¡°You should worry about yourself. Victor is a powerful man I¡¯ll tell you that. But you don¡¯t have to fear him since he¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°Where is he then?¡± AJ asked.


    ¡°...He left a long time ago. He went to enact phase one of pale horse. Death from the sky that¡¯ll bring new life to this world.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stop you.¡±


    Carter laughed. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. Currently I have multiple spectre¡¯s in my office to protect me. I want you to come here...alone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll come alone unless you want to see your friend dead.¡±


    With the odds stacked against him, AJ had no choice. He told Harlot to go secure an escape vehicle. When he saves Sev they¡¯ll need a quick escape. He doubt the soldiers will just let them walks right out of here.


    Something also felt strange about Victor and Carter. It didn¡¯t feel like Carter was the mastermind behind all this. Someone, most likely Victor, was pulling the strings from the shadows.

 CHAPTER 13

    Outside Carter¡¯s office on the fifth floor, AJ stood. With a gun in hand, he wasn¡¯t sure what to expect when he walked in. Victor could be there waiting to kill him like last time. If that was the case, he had an extra wave bomb he scavenged off Mike. He wasn¡¯t worried about the spectres Carter talked about. He could easily take them down.


    He took a deep breath and opened the door. He walked into the room where Carter was. The man sat behind his wooden desk with Sev tied up on the floor in the middle of the room. Along the walls stood ten spectres. They stood at attention with their arms behind their backs and chins held up.


    Unlike the typical soldiers AJ has seen before, these soldiers were well equipped. Black clothing with high quality combat gear. Helmet and black ski masks with red visor to cover their eyes. Like him, they carried pistols in their belt holster.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you can join us AJ,¡± Carter said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you close the door behind you.¡±


    Without looking away from Carter, AJ stepped back and closed the door behind him. He then stood back in the middle of the room, scanning the other spectres. He noticed he had a silver spade insignia on the side of their helmets.


    Lightning streaked across the sky behind Carter, lighting up the dark room, and was followed up with the boom of thunder that echoed in through the closed glass windows. AJ clenched his fist, his fingers began to twitch like before.


    ¡°This world is dying, did you know that?¡± Carter asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the whole reason why all the countries are still fighting,¡± AJ said. ¡°To gather up as much resources as they can.¡±


    ¡°True, and this fighting does what?¡± Carter asked. ¡°We focus on fighting nothing. We''re but corpses who fight just to fight. We think if we destroy the other countries somehow everything will be better.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to find something to fight for.¡±


    Carter smiled. ¡°That¡¯s true, if you don¡¯t have anything to fight for or live for then you might as well be a corpse.¡± He pulled out a pistol and rubbed the side of his head with the cold metal barrel. ¡°So tell me, what do you fight for?¡±


    ¡°I fight to save people,¡± AJ answered. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m a spectre.¡±


    ¡°Wrong, you fight to save your people,¡± Carter shouted. ¡°You¡¯ll easily allow chinks, ruskies or candies die. But once an american is in trouble, you gotta save them.¡±


    He stood up and walked around his desk. He leaned against the front of it and pointed the gun down at Sev who was struggling around and muffling.


    ¡°If Sev wasn¡¯t your friend and wasn¡¯t american, you¡¯d let him die.¡±


    AJ¡¯s eyes grew sharp and his fist clenched. ¡°What are you getting at?¡±


    ¡°You talk about saving people when really you¡¯re just talking about saving a select few.¡± Carter switched off the gun¡¯s safety with his thumb. ¡°For me and the Gaia, we¡¯re talking about saving everyone.¡±


    ¡°Bt your plan involves killing millions of innocent people,¡± AJ said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, we¡¯ll get our hands bloodied, but that¡¯s just the way it was.¡± He glanced at his spectres. ¡°Spectres, do me a favor and kill AJ.¡±


    In synchronization, the spectres all flashed stepped at once. Vanishing with a boom. AJ also flashed stepped. The plague rain outside  slowed to a halt and the streak of lightning slowed down as it seared across the dark skies behind Carter.


    All at once, the spectres came at him. He held up his dukes and readied his fingers. With a smirk on his face, he knew these guys would be easy to take down.


    The first spectre ran towards him. They jabbed but he swayed left out of the direction of the fist. He grabbed them back the back of the neck and swung his elbow while bringing their face forward. Their red visor shattered as their head jerked back and they fell backward onto the floor.


    Out the corner of his eye he saw a spectre coming at him from the left. They held a baton and swung down on top of him. He raised his forearm and blocked it. With their body completely exposed, he launched a rib crushing jab. The force sent them flying back through the window and out into the rain that stood still in the air.


    ¡°Is this all you guys got?¡± AJ asked. He wiped his thumb across his bottom lip and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve fought spectres way tougher than you guys.¡±


    The next spectre came from behind and wrapped their arms around him. He struggled around but couldn¡¯t free himself. A second spectre came from in front and with a baton. AJ leaned back and kicked up. The tip of his boot shattering the spectre with the baton¡¯s lower jaw and knocking them back.


    In one swift motion he hunched over and flipped the spectre holding him, over his shoulder. They felt onto the floor. Before they could pick themselves up, he stomped his foot on their back, pinning them down. He swung his arm down, snapping his fingers, and sent a spear of fire piercing through their torso and leaving a clean hole.


    He looked up at the other spectre¡¯s who staggered back, having just witness his true power. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked. ¡°You guys afraid?¡±


    The next two spectres came at him. The lept forward, punching their fist. With each punch came a devastating blast of fire. AJ felt the heat as he stepped back out of the way. He weaved back and under their barrage of attacks. Each punch, each kick sent blast of flames coming his way.


    His back press up against the solid wall and there was no place left to run. He slid his feet apart and got ready to move out the way. With perfect synchronization, the two spectres both punched forward, jabbing and sending a wave of firing coming his way. He dove to the left out of the way and towards the window. He snapped with his left hand and then snapped with his right.


    A serpent of fire curved out from behind him and curled itself around the two spectres, igniting them both in flames. They fell to the floor and rolled about frantically as they burned to death.


    AJ felt his breath growing short. Never have he needed to fight for this long. He wasn¡¯t use to it and most fights ended in less than a few minutes. He soldiered through it and glared back at the other six spectres remaining.


    The biggest spectre rose up from the other six. They unsheathed a large broadsword they wore on their back and charged towards him. The blade was made of a thin metal with a jagged tooth edge and sharp tip. They swung it with ease. He stepped back and circled around behind the desk. They didn¡¯t follow him behind the desk. They cocked their sword back and thrusted it forward. The blade was long enough to reach over the desk and stab through the glass window behind him.


    After dodging a few stabs, AJ jumped onto of the desk and lept of it. The spectre swung their sword down but smashed it into the wooden desk and got it stuck. He stepped down behind the spectre and charged for the others standing behind them.


    AJ stepped between two spectres and snapped his fingers. His flames were weak and didn¡¯t even burn, just sparked. He grabbed their knives they kept on their belts and in one swift motion, slashed the cold blade across their necks. They held their throats and choked on the blood that filled their lungs.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    AJ turned around right as the biggest spectre free their broadsword from the table. They turned around but didn¡¯t swing. They had to avoid hitting Carter who stood frozen. They stomped over Sev and attacked AJ. They swung up, the blade tore through the floor. He shielded his face from the debris and leaned back out of the way of the attack.


    At a safe distance, he tried snapping his fingers but his flames were still not working. The spectres around him were moving faster than before...no he was getting slower. Though he was a powerful spectre he still lacked stamina to keep up flash step. He needed to end it quickly. He forced his body with sure will power to keep up his current speed and not to let it drop.


    The spectre swung their sword down and AJ weaved under and stepped left out of the way. Their blade just grazed the side of his arm. He then stepped into their space and plunged one of the knives he held into their leg. They staggered before falling back on their knees. He grabbed them by their collar and with his other knifed stabbed down into the side of their neck. Blood spurted out and seeped between their flesh and the cold metal blade at the fell over dead.


    He turned his attention towards the other three spectres. The next spectre charged at him, their fists emitted an electric charge. They launched a series of jabs, each grazing some part of his body. His movements were sluggish and a single lag could cost him. After a few more punches, they land a serious blow across AJ¡¯s face. The force jerked his head back and caused him to stagger backwards. Without giving him time to recover, they jabbed at him. The blow impacted his chest, sending a jolt of electricity through his lungs. He fell down to his knees, coughing up blood on the floor.


    Pick your ass up AJ, he thought to himself. He glared up at the spectre who stood over him. With all his strength, through the pain he felt, he lifted up with an uppercut. The punch shattered their jaw and broke their teeth. They fell back, hitting their head against the wall.


    He turned his attention on the last two spectres left. Out of breath and slowly leaving flash step, he had to hurry and take these bastards out or they¡¯d kill him. He charged at them, and jabbed at the the one on the left. His attack missed as the spectre stepped back out of the way of his attack. He tried again, swinging with his left fist that went too slow and missed. The weight of his attack caused him to stumble into the spectre who looked down at him and laughed.


    ¡°Not so tough now are you?¡± they asked.


    AJ smirked. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m still...pretty tough.¡± He grabbed the spectre on their shoulder and engulfed them fire. He stepped back away from them and turned his killing glare on the last and final spectre. He took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°I think you should just give up man,¡± he said.


    The spectre pulled out their knife and charged at AJ. They swung their knife in a wide motion. He leaned back out of the way of the attack. The blade sliced open his cheek as it paced by him. He staggered back, holding his cheek and glared at them. The tip of their blade dripped with his blood. They stepped forward and thrusted their knife, aiming for his face.


    He blocked their attack and redirected it with the back of his hand. With a one swift jab and smashed his knuckles into their face. Their nose cracked and visor broke as they staggered back from the crushing blow.


    The world around him sped back up as he left flash stepped. Out of breath, his legs felt weak as he collapsed onto the floor. This had been the longest moment he had to use flash step and fight at the same time. He used the bit of his energy to stare up at Carter¡¯s smiling face as he looked down at him.


    Carter cocked his head around, looking at the damaged around him. ¡°Wow you really did a number on those fellas.¡±


    He turned around and saw the person size hole in the window. ¡°Wow you even knocked one into the plague rains. I¡¯m very impressed.¡±


    He went around his desk and reached into the top drawer. Inside he pulled out a USB drive he held between his thumb and index finger. A USB hasn¡¯t been used as a storage device in a long time. After the war they became hard to come by.


    ¡°You see this little thing right here?¡± he asked. ¡°This here is a U...S...B, people before the war used it to store all sorta information on it. Victor is going to use this to reprogram the automatic aircraft sequence. It¡¯ll allow us to control the aircrafts and bomb and country we want. Sure a few million people will die but if you want to save everyone ya gotta kill  a few people.¡±


    AJ struggled to pick himself off the ground. ¡°I¡¯m...not gonna let...you do that.¡±


    Carter grew serious and the smile on his face turned into a serious frown. ¡°Boy, the reason I had those spectres fight ya is because I know how your flash step work. It wears ya down both physically and mentally. You can¡¯t stop me and you won¡¯t be able to beat me either.¡±


    AJ glanced over at Sev who was wrapped in a silver wire. ¡°H-Hey man get...up.¡±


    ¡°That boy aint getting up,¡± Carter said. ¡°Like I said, we have anti spectre equipment. There is no way you can beat me...unless you fight me.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do,¡± AJ said. Through the pain and struggle, he picked himself up, his legs shook and he wobbled on a bit like a drunken man.


    ¡°So we¡¯re fight now huh?¡± Carter placed the USB into his pocket and raised his duke. ¡°Boy you can¡¯t flash step, how do you think you¡¯ll beat me?¡±


    AJ raised his fists. ¡°I don¡¯t need it to kill you.¡±


    Carter smiled as he jabbed. The blow struck AJ in the face staggering him back.  Carter followed up with an uppercut that caught AJ¡¯s under jaw. He stumbled back into the wall. Back against the wall, his world seemed to spin and his vision seemed blurred. A blurry punch got him across the face and sent shockwaves through his face.


    He rolled onto the floor and lied their, breathing heavily.


    ¡°Without ya fancy powers ya spectres are nothin but mere human.¡± Carter said, reaching down and picking up AJ by the collar. He pushed AJ back, keeping him on his feet as he let out a string of jabs. Two from his left fist and one right his right.


    The taste of iron mixed with spit took over AJ¡¯s sense of taste. He saw the next crushing attack from Carter and tried to sway back out of the way. The punch was quick and Carter¡¯s knuckles felt like concrete as it struck against the side of his face and knocking the blood he held in his mouth.


    He moved back and bumped against the wooden desk. He used it to keep himself up while he watched Carter walked towards him; cracking his knuckles. Just feet away from AJ and he stopped.


    ¡°AJ, the world is a wasteland, plague ravages the world and countries invest in military to fight and kill over saving their own people,¡± he said. ¡°Why do you fight on that side?¡±


    AJ thought about it. He felt he was being hypocritical. He¡¯s protect only american citizens and leave citizens from other countries alone. He¡¯d kill people in small numbers that¡¯d add up to a million but won¡¯t kill them all together. What was his reason for living at that point, why did he fight?


    ¡°C-Cause all...all my shits here,¡± he said. ¡°I-I¡¯m not gonna let you blow up my shit.¡±


    ¡°Such a petty reason,¡± Carter said.


    ¡°No, your reason is petty,¡± AJ said. ¡°You think killing millions of people will stop all this? Cause it won¡¯t. The overlords will use that as a reason to keep fighting one another. Rally those that are still alive and fight each other in a full out war under false pretenses. They¡¯re cruel like that.¡±


    Carter picked up the gun off the ground and pointed it at AJ. Safety was off and he had his firm finger wrapped around the trigger.


    ¡°Well see about that,¡± he said.


    ¡°Hey, you know...your nose is bleeding,¡± AJ smiled.


    Carter glanced down at his shirt which was covered in his own blood, and muttered a curse under his breath. Blood started to seep from under his eyes and his botter shook while his head jittered. The plague had been inside his body for along time now and it was beginning to take its effect.


    He staggered backwards and forwards, unable to keep his balanced. His skin bubbled as puss filled under his skin.


    AJ took the moment of opportunity to swipe the USB from his hand and then grab him by the collar. He pulled him over to the window and in one swift motion, ran him through it. Carter¡¯s shielded his face as he smashed through the glass window, shattering it into pieces. Before he knew it, he was flapping his arms as he fell out the window into the plague rain. The kind of rain that burns the flesh off organic creatures.


    AJ didn¡¯t look out the window, he didn¡¯t have to see Carter¡¯s corpse to know he was dead. He staggered back into the chair behind him and sat down in it. Strung out in the chair, he gazed out at the wall of rain outside. It was a wall that poured down hard and obscured by the dark of night.


    ¡°Hey, AJ are you there?¡± It was Harlot calling from his radio.


    AJ reached into his pocket and grabbed it. ¡°Yeah...I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Did you get Sev?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah but he¡¯s kind of tied up now,¡± AJ said. ¡°Need you to come and get us.¡±


    ¡°Was Carter and Victor there?¡±


    ¡°...No just Carter.¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s?¡±


    There was a long pause as AJ thought about what he was going to say.


    ¡°...The bitch is dead.¡±

 CHAPTER 14

    Sev walked AJ out of the front door of the hospital building. He had AJ¡¯s arm wrapped over his shoulder to help him up. The air was moist but didn¡¯t have hint of plague. Puddles were everywhere but as long as they avoided them, they¡¯d be fine.


    Day had broke and the sun¡¯s brilliant light cut through the clouds above. A convoy of armored vehicles and transport vehicles, carrying US soldiers, entered town. Sev had managed to inform commander East about everything that happened and she took action. The town was taken over and all defective soldiers who surrendered were taken away.


    ¡°AJ!¡± Harlot shouted from the distance.


    AJ looked up and saw Harlot standing on a hill across from them. He pulled his arm from over Sev¡¯s shoulders and walked the rest of the way on his own. They ambled up the hill until they got to Harlot.


    She gazed at AJ¡¯s beat up face and bloodied side with her clear blue eyes. For AJ, her hair seemed to glimmer in the dull lighting as she smiled at him.


    ¡°Nice job saving the day,¡± she said.


    ¡°I also saved Sev,¡± he replied.


    Sev chuckled and patted AJ on the back where his wound was. ¡°Yeah you really did save me man.¡±


    AJ gritted his teeth and tried not show pain. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re welcome...buddy.¡±


    ¡°Now that Carter¡¯s dead what now?¡±


    AJ looked around. Convoys patrolled the streets in droves and US soldiers were busy escorting the Gaia soldiers to troop transport. On an empty stretch of road, medical personnel were dragging the dead people in body bags they had lined up. Most of them were spectres but one wasn¡¯t. He got a short glance at Carter¡¯s puss covered face as they zipped up the he was in.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet,¡± AJ said. ¡°Pale Rider is a two part operation. We only stopped part one. They can still move onto part two.¡±


    ¡°Part two?¡± Sev asked.


    ¡°They stole my sword, one of a few spectre weapons left in existence,¡± AJ explained. ¡°They must have some way to recreate it. If they do that their spectres will be way more powerful than anything we can hope to beat.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we better hurry up then.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The loud stutter echoed from above as a black hawk hovered above their heads. The blades sliced through the air and blew wind against their faces. It landed down just a few feet from where they stood. It¡¯s door slid open and commander East stood inside with her hands tucked into her coat¡¯s pockets and with a cigar in her mouth. She stepped down out of the helicopter and walked over to AJ.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯ve been through hell,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve feel like I¡¯ve been through hell,¡± he replied. ¡°So what¡¯s with the helicopter. I thought no country had access to aviation technology.¡±


    ¡°No country did because our technology was primitive,¡± she said. ¡°Lucky for us we found the specs for a black hawk helicopter in an old military installation. The egg heads got to work on building these helicopters. There are only five right now and our base got the first one.¡±


    ¡°Why would they give us one?¡±


    She took the cigar out her mouth and held it between her fingers. Smoke billowed between her lips and out her nose as she spoke. ¡°The US overlords knew about Gaia but didn¡¯t know how to stop them or who was working with them. Not only did you guys uncover their base, you also uncovered their plans and put a dent in it.¡±


    ¡°So what are we going to do now?¡± AJ asked. ¡°Victor is still out there and Gaia still have bases outside of the United States.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who Victor is, you¡¯ll have to explain that in your report,¡± she said. ¡°Right now our base has been made top priority and all missions will be conducted against Gaia. The overlords want us to eliminate them from our country...and only our country.¡±


    ¡°So does that mean our facilities will be upgraded?¡± Harlot asked.


    ¡°Yes, the overlords will be giving us the best of the best.¡±


    ¡°Cigars included?¡± Sev asked.


    She shook her head. ¡°No, this is from my new pay raise.¡± She looked at AJ who stood with his right fist clenched. ¡°Also, the overlords want that USB stick you have, so hand it over.¡±


    AJ was reluctant to hand it over. It was going to be used to reprogram the AI aircrafts that were going to bomb and kill millions of people. Knowing the United States, they¡¯d love to get their hand on this technology and use it to fight their never ending war against the other countries. But he didn¡¯t have a choice, he placed it down in East¡¯s hand who then tucked it into her pocket.


    ¡°Alright then, I guess I¡¯ll be off.¡± She stepped back up on the helicopter, her coat flapped against the winds, and sat down in the seat. ¡°If you three need a ride I¡¯m sure there is room for you all.¡±


    ¡°No we¡¯re fine, we¡¯ll find our own way back to base,¡± AJ said.


    East smiled and closed the door. The helicopter¡¯s blade spun faster and it lifted off the ground and into the air casting it¡¯s black shadow on the ground below. Just as quickly as it came, so too did it leave.


    ¡°Hey asshole, why did you speak for all of us?¡± Sev asked, glaring at AJ.


    ¡°What, you wanted to get on or something?¡±


    ¡°I also wanted to get on too,¡± Harlot added.


    ¡°Good job man, you ruined it for both me and Harlot.¡±


    AJ stepped away from Sev and Harlot who glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry guys, I didn¡¯t mean to speak for you two.¡±


    ¡°Well we can¡¯t do much about it now,¡± Harlot sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s just the way it is.¡±


    THE END